Secondly, we are proud of the fact that this year the REF received the highest rating—four stars—on Charity Navigator, the premier independent charity evaluator in this country. The ratings from Charity Navigator reflect the financial health of a charitable organization and are, in part, derived from the proportion of expenses a charity designates for program services. Therefore, another goal for the next three years will be to ensure that an average of 90% of all expenses will be designated for our awards program.
The other three goals relate to developing a comprehensive fundraising program that diversifies the sources of donations to the REF. The REF will intensify its effort to solicit donations from outside the pharmaceutical industry—currently 17%—and has set a goal to generate 25% of our donations from nonpharmaceutical sources. In the process, we plan to increase the number of new donors and increase the amounts given by each donor. Finally, the REF seeks to be the premier source of private funds for rheumatology research and training and plans to implement a series of communication and marketing strategies to attain this level of recognition, further enhancing our fundraising capabilities. We envision that strategic alliances with the National Institutes of Health and other private fundraising organizations will be forged to realize this objective.
The REF now has about $50 million in net assets and an annual program budget of approximately $11 million. It has become a major fundraising organization, with an increase in program expenses of 1,000% over the past 10 years.
While the REF continues to grow in the scope and extent of its activities, it remains inextricably bound to the mission and goals of the ACR and ARHP as these organizations work together to shape the future of rheumatology. Many of you reading this article have either benefited from an REF award or personally donated time or money to this organization. I trust that past awardees appreciate the REF’s role in furthering rheumatology training and research and will be inspired to give back. For the many volunteers and donors, I express my deep gratitude for your part in making the REF a success. I hope you will all support the REF as it builds on its past accomplishments and continues its mission of advancing research and training to improve the health of people with rheumatic diseases.
Dr. St.Clair is the president of the ACR REF and interim chief of the division of rheumatology and immunology at Duke University in Durham, N.C. Contact him at [email protected].