Message From the President and CEO

From the time I began at The Assistance Fund (TAF), I’ve been humbled and honored to be a part of an organization that–at its core, is dedicated to helping people living with life-threatening, chronic, and rare diseases get the treatment they need. Even before joining the organization in 2016, it has never been lost on me just how great an impact TAF makes every single day— across an ever-increasing number of rare diseases and ultimately even more patients. I’ve have been lucky to see this impact up close while leading operations at TAF, and now, I’m incredibly honored and excited to take the helm as President and CEO.

A few years ago, I was boarding a plane and sat next to a lovely woman, Carol She and I struck up a conversation and had an instant connection. Carol told me about how much she loved playing the piano, as well as what it was like living with Parkinson’s disease. I told her about our disease program for people living with Parkinson’s disease, and a few months later she was approved for assistance. Thanks to the treatment she’s taking, she’s now able to go to her local coffee shop, play piano, and have an improved quality of life.

This year’s Impact Report’s theme, “Beyond a Diagnosis,” is an important reminder that each person we serve is more than a patient. They’re moms, dads, siblings, friends, and community members from all across the country. Inside, you’ll read five stories of writers, bakers, runners, and, yes, people receiving TAF assistance. I hope you’ll read their stories and be as moved and inspired by them as I am.

Last year, thanks to the tremendous generosity of our donors, we were able to help Kanwar, Julia, Tanya-Marie, John, and more than 40,000 other patients access the critical treatment they need. Through nearly 80 disease programs and $270 million in donations, TAF continued to provide underinsured people living with life-threatening, chronic, and rare diseases access to critical treatment through financial assistance, education, and advocacy.

With the pandemic's end, many people living on fixed incomes are struggling to pay for basic necessities, and the need for charitable assistance organizations like TAF will only grow. To address that need, we launched eight new disease programs in 2022, extending assistance to people living with diseases like ALS and asthma, as well as several rare diseases.

Our operations team launched new, innovative features like our chatbot, Violet, which has already answered nearly 8,000 online inquiries from patients, caregivers, and providers. Cutting edge AI tools like Violet can bring our patients peace of mind while our Patient Advocates deliver best-in-class customer service.

In 2022, TAF unveiled a comprehensive set of patient resources, providing important information for patients, families, caregivers, and more. And in June, members of TAF’s team traveled to New York City to interview two families for our latest TAF patient video. Susan and Grayson’s heartening stories of finding TAF and staying active in their communities reflect our laser-like focus on putting patients and their families at the heart of everything we do.

Thank you again for your support as we begin this new phase of TAF and—together—move closer to the day when no person goes without treatment because of an inability to pay.