Grant Application & Projects > Research Endowment Info > Current Endowments

Introducing the Family Medicine Research Endowment Program

As the charitable arm of family medicine in Texas, the TAFP Foundation uses tax-deductible gifts to promote, foster and sustain the future of family medicine. Among the Foundation’s major goals is to support and encourage family medicine research.

In the past 20 years, the TAFP Foundation has provided more than $200,000 to over 60 research projects, but so much more could be done. Family physicians’ offices offer an immense and valuable laboratory for research in ambulatory medicine.

Currently grants are limited to $5,000, which severely restricts the type of research that we can support. Our research committee also sees a need to support the infrastructure of practice-based research in Texas. Training is needed to build the skills of family physicians, and practice-based research networks need our support as well.

The research program has relied on annual contributions designated for research as well as undesignated contributions. As a result, our efforts are subject to the limits of the operating budget and can fluctuate from year to year. We need to create a stable source of income to fund practice-based research in Texas.

The Foundation is proud to announce the establishment of the Family Medicine Research Endowment Program to serve as the bedrock for our future research endeavors.

You can help by creating a research fund in your name or the name of a colleague you wish to honor. All of the funds will be part of the Family Medicine Research Endowment. Collectively the funds will support the research efforts of the TAFP Foundation. Each fund honoree will be identified as a Family Medicine Research Champion.

There are four levels within the Family Medicine Research Champion program:

• Platinum — $50,000
• Gold — $25,000
• Silver — $10,000
• Bronze — $5,000

Fill out the TAFP Foundation Research Fund Commitment Form to help support the future of the specialty that provides quality, compassionate and personal health care.

Disclosures:

1. Donors should make a $250 donation to start growing the fund.
2. Donors have five years to fund a Bronze Level fund from the time the commitment form and initial donation is received by the TAFP Foundation. If the donors fail to meet that deadline or make other arrangements with the TAFP Foundation Board of Trustees, the funds will be released to the general research endowment.
3. The honoree will not be listed on any acknowledgement of Research Champions until the fund reaches $5000.
4. Funds can move up in the Champion levels — Bronze through Platinum — with additional donations.
5. All endowment funds are co-mingled and invested according to an investment policy approved by the TAFP Foundation Board of Trustees. Interest and realized investment gain are distributed annually to the endowment.
6. To protect the principle and ensure the continuation of the endowment, only 5 percent of the endowment can be expended each year. Five percent will be used collectively to fund research projects in Texas, research training and other infrastructure-building activities deemed appropriate by the TAFP Foundation Board of Trustees. We are not able to establish separate criteria and funding procedures for individual funds.