Larry W. Nissen IAOMS Foundation Chairman
2025
THE IAOMS FOUNDATION Fact or Fiction?
Face to Face October 2025
October, 2016 – REALITY
I am pleased to announce that the IAOMS Foundation has surpassed its $5 million goal for its endowment. This milestone has been made possible by the hard work and dedication of the Foundation Board, the IAOMS Board, the Foundation Envoys, our committed corporate partners and the numerous member and non-member donors.
To many of you, the above story can only be fiction: $5 million is an outrageous amount to think our Foundation needs or even wants to have. Reality is, any Foundation that is doing good deeds needs an almost unlimited supply of funds. If we break it down to show how we can achieve this $5 million goal: Current assets: $300,000
To all of you, I want to express a big, “THANK YOU” – for your efforts and our success. What does it now mean for the Foundation? Can we stop our fundraising? Will a sense of contentment begin to creep into our Board, Envoys, corporate partners and members? To the first question, achieving this monumental goal allows the Board to predictably spend up to 5% of the corpus (depending on the annual rate of return) or up to $250,000 on programs to benefit the specialty and our patients. We will be able to begin awarding meaningful research grants; not to fully fund projects, but funds that can act as seed money to launch new initiatives to be funded by larger funding organizations, government or private. This ability to fund research projects turns a new page or opens a new “line of business” for our Foundation. The Board also will be calling on IAOMS members to constitute the Grant Selection Committee (providing new volunteer opportunities) who will carefully vet proposals to achieve maximum benefit for our specialty. To the second two questions: ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!!!! Our $5 million goal is only an interim stop along the way to a $20 million endowment which can generate up to $1 million per year. With these funds available, the IAOMS educational programs will expand exponentially across the globe, Fellowships will be readily available, our on-line education will be able to select specific experts and topics to deliver live, interactive lectures that will be recorded for future use. At this point, our greatest enemy is COMPLACENCY. Yes, we have done an exceptional job in achieving our $5 million goal and all of us need to be proud of this accomplishment. By maintaining our current focus and diligence, the more substantial goal can be achieved.
KLS Martin Group Challenge Grant and member match donations $480,000 (projected) ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Total Projected Assets 2018 $780,000 Goal $5,000,000
IAOMS members – 3,500
$4,220,000 – needed to raise Time: 9 years
Each member would need to give only $135 per year to achieve this goal!!! To be perfectly clear – If each and every IAOMS member would donate $135 per year for nine years, the goal of $5 million would be achieved by 2025. As with all organizations, some will donate more, some less. The difference is your commitment to the goals of the Foundation, that exists solely to fund projects of the IAOMS.
I ASK EACH OF YOU, FACT OR FICTION? ■
THANK YOU AGAIN for all your donations, phone calls, emails, text messages and “gentle” persuasion that it has taken to achieve this lofty goal. FACT OR FICTION????? 18 iaoms.org
October 2016