I felt similarly. There are a lot of things one could do to help, short of funding. Even taking the time to write a longer and more personal email would not be

I felt similarly. There are a lot of things one could do to help, short of funding. Even taking the time to write a longer and more personal email would not be nothing. On the other hand, the article says she did schedule a meeting with the author ("albeit a month out"). It doesn't say what happened at the meeting.