The core mission of the REF is to support the recruitment, training, and career development of rheumatologists by raising funds and awarding grants. By any measure, the REF has been extraordinarily successful. We have gone from providing $500,000 in total grants supporting our core mission in 1998 to more than $4.5 million in 2008. The grants provide the opportunity for medical students and residents to be exposed to our field, and they support rheumatology fellow salaries. The increase in support has been associated with an increase in the number of graduating fellows from a low of 105 in 2000 to 173 in 2007.
The REF also provides clinician scholar educators—the core of our teaching faculty—with awards for innovative teaching, and provides visiting pediatric rheumatologists to the many institutions without pediatric rheumatology expertise. For those individuals wishing to pursue a career in academia, the REF supports early training and mentored career development for physicians and health professionals. It is absolutely essential for the REF to support our young basic and clinical scientists as it is an increasing struggle to obtain funding through the National Institutes of Health (NIH)—the source of funding ultimately required to support an academic research career. While the REF clearly cannot provide the totality of research support for any individual or program, our focus is on preparing young scientists for success and providing support during first applications to the NIH.
How Do We Raise Money to Support These Goals?
At present, the majority of funding comes from industry sources, which have been essential to move the REF from its beginnings to where we are now. We are grateful for the support of our industry partners and believe that we have used their investment wisely. In my view, however, it would be foolish for the REF to depend on industry support for the future. Through annual giving, ACR and ARHP members will provide approximately $600,000 to support REF programs this year alone. We are grateful to all of our donors, especially the almost half of our members who currently each donate up to $200 annually to the REF. It is my goal as REF president to increase awareness of our outstanding programs and of the opportunity we all have to support the core mission of the REF.
In addition to our annual giving program, we are delighted to add a planned giving program to the REF. Arthur L. Weaver, MD, chair of the planned giving program, has worked closely with the REF staff to create a program that you can now use while you are planning your legacy. I encourage you to visit the REF Web site at www.rheumatology.org/REF for more information. With the advent of our improved annual giving and planned giving programs, we all have the opportunity to use our resources to support the future of our profession.