2012 Accomplishments of the Rheumatology Research Foundation
Putting Rheumatology First
A new day dawned on the ACR's fund-raising and grant-making entity in 2012. On November 10, at the ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting, the American College of Rheumatology Research and Education Foundation became the Rheumatology Research Foundation.
The Foundation's new name more clearly conveys its identity, allowing the organization to strengthen its bonds with the ACR community while offering exciting opportunities to introduce its mission, achievements and discoveries to new audiences.
The year also marked the close of a strategic plan, the successful completion of which leads into a new three-year plan set to launch in 2013. That new plan will guide the Foundation's work into 2016, and help solidify its place among the country's pre-eminent medical research nonprofits.
As the largest private funding source of rheumatology research and training programs in the U.S., the Foundation has awarded more than $50 million to more than 1,000 recipients in the past five years--and more than $100 million over its 27-year history. This crucial support ensures that rheumatologists and health care professionals gain the knowledge and resources to provide their patients with the best possible care.
Support to Core Programs and Disease-Targeted Research
In 2012, the Foundation committed $12.3 million in funding, the most in its history. More than half that figure—$6.37 million—went to disease-targeted research. Included in that sum is $2 million to fund clinical trials. A total of $4.25 million supports academic research career development—double the amount funded in 2002—and $1.76 million is targeted toward recruitment, education and specialized clinical training. To ensure these awards are funded in perpetuity, the Foundation continued contributing to its general endowment, which, as of June 30, 2012, was valued at $22.8 million.
Corporate and Individual Fundraising
In 2012, just over one year after its launch, the Foundation's $60 million Journey to Cure campaign crossed the halfway point to its goal. A tremendous achievement on many levels, not the least of which is that the funds raised already surpass those of the previous campaign, Within Our Reach, and it took five years to get to that point. Clearly, the Foundation's supporters are committed to advancing patient care and accelerating discoveries.
Journey to Cure, which includes support from corporate partners as well as individual donors and other foundations, will raise money for education and training, career rheumatology career development and an expanded disease targeted research program. Specific goals include advancing patient care by recruiting and training future rheumatologists and rheumatology educators, developing future researchers, and fostering the best novel research ideas in each niche of rheumatology. Journey to Cure also aims to advance research leading to cures in the most serious of the rheumatic diseases—rheumatoid arthritis—and other conditions where inflammatory arthritis is a major pathology, including the spondylorthropathies.
Brand Recognition
The Foundation's name change is just one step in a multilayered process to build a brand identity that matches the organization's phenomenal success. Internal communications and marketing staff were hired in 2012 to lead the Foundation through this exciting time.
Membership on the Foundation's social media platforms and readership of its electronic publication, Pathways, continues to grow and shows no sign of slowing. A new website will launch in early 2013, offering countless new ways for the Foundation to promote its work and connect to constituents.
Ensuring Organizational Efficiency
On average, 90 cents of every dollar raised by the Foundation is directly invested in programs. This remarkable success is reflected in the Foundation's four-star rating, the highest available, from Charity Navigator, the most highly respected evaluator of nonprofits. The Foundation has received a four-star rating for five consecutive years; only 20 percent of charities rated by Charity Navigator have received just two consecutive years of four-star ratings. That places the Foundation in rarified company.