Fund the Buzz: The $8,000 Reason HDBuzz Can Tell You the Truth

HDBuzz has always been free to read, and we intend to keep it that way. But free to read doesn’t mean free to run. As an independent nonprofit powered entirely by our community, we’re launching Fund the Buzz, our spring fundraising campaign, running through June 15, with a goal of $30,000. Here’s what your donation pays for, why journalism insurance is surprisingly important in Huntington’s disease (HD) research, and why we think an HD science newsroom with no pharmaceutical ties is worth protecting.

We believe everyone touched by HD deserves access to accurate, unbiased science reporting, regardless of where they live or what they can afford.

Who reads HDBuzz, and why it matters

In the past year alone, HDBuzz published a record 100 articles in 12 languages on the latest updates in HD research and clinical trial news. Those articles reached over 345,000 unique visitors and logged more than 660,000 pageviews. Those aren’t abstract numbers, they represent HD families, trial participants, caregivers, researchers, and clinicians turning to HDBuzz to understand what the science actually says. 

Those readers aren’t just in the U.S. Our community spans the globe, from the UK and Germany to Australia, Vietnam, Brazil, and beyond, with readers in over 30 countries tuning in regularly. HD doesn’t respect borders, so HDBuzz works globally to inform and empower everyone in the HD community.

When uniQure reported positive trial results about the first HD gene therapy last fall, nearly 29,000 people read our coverage in the days that followed, a similar number of visitors in a single news cycle that we typically see in an entire month. 

People come to HDBuzz when it matters most, and they come because they trust what they find here.

The HD science news machine needs fuel

HDBuzz has always been free. Free to read, free to share, free to bookmark at 2 AM when you’re trying to understand what a clinical trial result actually means for your family. The model we have built for HDBuzz is intentional, but it’s not the norm. 

Most scientific research lives behind paywalls: researchers pay fees to publish their work in academic journals, and institutions and individuals pay again to access it. As scientists ourselves, we have that access. And crucially, we have the training to translate what we find into language that actually makes sense to families living with HD. We think everyone deserves that, not just people with a university login. 

We believe everyone touched by HD deserves access to accurate, unbiased science reporting, regardless of where they live or what they can afford. So today, we’re launching our spring fundraising campaign, Fund the Buzz, and we’re asking our community to help keep that access free for our community.

Why we’re asking and what your donation actually pays for

HDBuzz became an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit in January 2026. That’s a milestone we’re proud of, and it means we’re standing entirely on the support of our readers and the HD community, no institutional safety net, no pharma contracts. 

The biggest new cost that comes with independence is journalism insurance, which is running us about $8,000 per year. That might sound like a heavy price tag for a small nonprofit, but hear us out.

Wait, journalism insurance? Really?

Yes, really. Here’s the thing: HDBuzz writers are trained scientists and clinicians. When we cover a drug trial, a regulatory decision, or a therapy’s risks and benefits, we’re giving you our honest, evidence-based assessment, not click-bait headlines. That independence is exactly what makes HDBuzz valuable, and it’s exactly what makes journalism insurance essential. 

Reporting truthfully on pharmaceutical companies, clinical outcomes, and the limits of the evidence means occasionally saying things that powerful organizations trying to generate a profit might not love. Insurance means we can keep doing that without putting HDBuzz at risk. Think of it as the cost of saying what we actually think.

In the past year alone, HDBuzz published a record 100 articles in 12 languages on the latest updates in HD research and clinical trial news.

The rest of the budget keeps the science flowing

Beyond insurance, your donations fund the editorial infrastructure that keeps HDBuzz running. 

We’ve brought on expanded editorial support for about $24,000 per year because the pace of HD science continues to accelerate. Between HTT lowering trials, biomarker studies, somatic expansion research, and a steady drumbeat of regulatory news, there’s more to cover than ever. 

We’ve also got website hosting and maintenance running about $9,000 per year to keep the platform fast, accessible, and ad-free. That’s roughly $41,000 to run this part of our independent HD science newsroom. To fund this, our spring goal is $30,000.

Why “pharma-free” matters more than you might think

To fund this though, HDBuzz isn’t going to drug companies. We’ve never accepted money from them. Not because we don’t appreciate what the pharmaceutical industry does – we’re genuinely rooting for every therapy in the pipeline! 

But taking money from organizations with a financial stake in particular treatments would compromise the thing that makes HDBuzz worth reading: the fact that we have no dog in the fight. 

Our writers are researchers and clinicians with deep expertise in different aspects of HD. When they say a trial result is exciting, it’s because the data is exciting. When they urge caution, it’s because the data warrants it. That honesty is due to our independence from organizations wishing to shape the narrative, and is funded entirely by awesome people like you.

How to help

Donate at hdbuzz.net/donate anytime, but contributions made between now and June 15 will go directly toward our Fund the Buzz campaign goal of $30,000.

Every contribution, large or small, goes directly toward keeping HDBuzz independent, operational, and protected. Share this article with your HD clinic, your support group, your family members who’ve bookmarked that one article they read three times. The more people who know about Fund the Buzz, the closer we get to our spring fundraising goal.

HD science is moving fast. HDBuzz will be here to explain all of it, but only with your help.

Summary

• HDBuzz has launched Fund the Buzz, our spring fundraising campaign from April 20 through June 15, with a goal of $30,000
• As an unbiased source for reporting on Huntington’s disease clinical trials and research news, HDBuzz accepts no pharmaceutical funding and relies entirely on community support
• Donations will be used to fund journalism insurance (~$8K/year), editorial support (~$24K/year), and website costs (~$9K/year)
• Donate at hdbuzz.net/donate, and share with your clinic, support group, and HD community