Tax Deductions, Good Works, and the Future of Healthcare
HBRF’s end-of-year “Giving Guide”
The end of the calendar year is a time of increased charitable giving in the United States, as with it comes the end of accounting for current year personal taxes and most businesses. Encouraged by the spirit of holidays and seeking mechanisms for lowering tax bills while putting hard-earned dollars to work doing good, many find charitable giving to a federally recognized 501(c)3 organization the ideal way to do both. This year, we hope you will consider a tax-deductible gift to Hope Biosciences Research Foundation (HBRF). Here, we tell you why your gift matters and who it helps, provide information about legacy giving and giving for Compassionate Use, then highlight two ways to give that maximize your tax benefit.
Our appeal is simple — with more, HBRF can do more. Thank you for supporting Hope, by giving hope.
(Reminder: this conversation does not constitute legal or accounting advice. Please consult your tax planning team with questions specific to your financial situation.)
What does HBRF do?
Hope Biosciences Research Foundation (HBRF) works daily to unlock the potential of regenerative medicine, bringing new hope to people in need by dramatically accelerating clinical research in the United States. A non-profit 501©3 organization headquartered in Sugar Land, Texas (Houston area) and founded in 2020, HBRF works primarily with chronic degenerative conditions conventionally considered “incurable,” or that fall outside the parameters of traditional clinical research. HBRF is closing gaps in research and care by directly supporting patients while developing sustainable solutions with the potential to right our country’s currently crippled healthcare system. HBRF serves both patients and researchers, harnessing the power of collaboration to improve efficiencies and bridge gaps from bench to bedside.
We are passionate people on a MISSION to deliver promising biotechnologies to real people, with real needs, right here in the United States.
We ENVISION a revolution in the way America treats and prevents disease and injury.
Our foundational VALUE is “patients first” — everything else follows.
FDA-authorized protocols executed at HBRF are designed in-house to the highest scientific standards of safety and efficacy. Spanning a wide range of therapeutic areas, HBRF’s research suite demonstrates both the versatility of regenerative medicine and the capabilities of the HBRF team. HBRF assumes all treatment costs associated with the FDA-authorized protocols sponsored here, because we never want lack of personal funding to create a barrier to entry into clinical research for patients seeking the opportunity. That means your support goes directly to people in need.
To date, clinical trial authorizations encompass COVID-19 prevention and treatment, “Long Haul” COVID, Parkinson’s Disease, and multiple sclerosis (MS). Expanded access protocol authorizations include nervous system conditions such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), primary lateral sclerosis (PLS), cerebral palsy, spinal cord injury, polyneuropathy, and muscular dystrophy; as well as immune conditions such as lupus; chronic musculoskeletal pain, severe osteoarthritis, and psoriatic arthritis; and pancreatic cancer. Most recently, HBRF became the first organization of which we are aware to obtain FDA authorization to treat a young teenager with a rare form of drug-resistant epilepsy.
Where does my money go when I give to HBRF?
When you give to HBRF, your donation goes directly to real people, with real needs, who usually have exhausted every avenue of healthcare available to them. “Hope” is aptly named because through restoration of physical health, that is the fundamental gift we hope to give — hope for a thriving future individually, in family units and, over time, as a nation and global community. In short, your money goes here:
HBRF appreciates every gift and our appeal is simple — with more, Hope can do more. Funds can be directed to the active study of your choice, or given for use where HBRF knows need to be greatest. Generally, a gift of:
· $100 secures infusion supplies.
· $250 supports a full day of operations in our infusion center.
· $750 administers a treatment.
· $75,000 ensures a year’s worth of treatment under Compassionate Use.
· $250,000 provides 60 treatments in a clinical trial.
· $2MM initiates a new clinical trial for an indication of choice.
· $4.7MM completes all current Compassionate Use and clinical trials in progress.
It is often said the strength of the community surrounding an organization is indicative of its likelihood of success. We pray that axiom is true, because the strength of the community gathered around HBRF today is staggering. Check out this video to hear directly from one of Hope’s Visionary Supporters:
What is the Compassionate Use Program, and how to I give directly to it?
Compassionate Use is an FDA-authorized special program that allows HBRF to serve and study individuals and small groups with severe or life-threatening conditions who do not qualify for clinical trials. Thanks to the generosity of private donors, HBRF is privileged to run the most active compassionate use program in the country. To date, the Compassionate Use Program has funded treatment for patients aged 2–89 years, many with rare or ultra rate conditions such as congenital muscular dystrophy, drug-resistant epilepsy, life-threatening cerebral palsy with complications, and more.
Today the wait time for compassionate use is two years. The list moves at the speed of funding; each individualized protocol is approximately $75,000. The wait list is prioritized by a 13-factor score whose considerations include, but are not limited to, disease severity, medical urgency, and veteran status. To uphold federal regulations and best clinical practice standards in ethics, the list must move in order — contributions to the Compassionate Use fund support the next person on the list.
To direct your gift to Compassionate Use, simply write “Compassionate Use” on the bottom of your check, select “Compassionate Use” from the online donation form at hopebio.org/donate, or write support@hopebio.org to tell us to earmark your gift. Together, we can clear the list!
Can I give to support work in a specific condition?
Gifts can be designated for research in a designated disease or injury condition, as the giver specifies; these are considered legally “restricted” gifts, as the funds are restricted to documented use in a way dictated at the time of the gift. “Unrestricted” gifts can be used in any way the receiving organization sees fit.
HBRF is eager to honor your intentions. If your gift is restricted to a condition currently in progress, your money goes immediately to work for people in need with that condition (as of this writing, HBRF is currently seeking funding to support on-going work in Parkinson’s Disease, “Long Haul” COVID, and for the myriad of conditions in both adults and children on the Compassionate Use Program waiting list).
Please be mindful, however, that HBRF only initiates research in fully funded areas. If your gift is restricted to a condition HBRF is not currently or yet working in, that means your dollars will be placed on hold and will not be able to directly support people with that condition, until HBRF can fully fund a trial. If you are interested in funding work in a new area, HBRF is happy to provide a general budget for that specific condition, as the exact cost of a clinical trial varies due to factors such as diagnostics for that particular condition; specialized needs for imaging, personnel, or staff training to support treatment of that condition; and similar considerations. In general, a gift of $2MM funds an FDA-authorized clinical trial in a condition of choice.
HBRF holds a special place in our heart for kids, believing strongly in the potential of our research to empower future generations with regenerative solutions that change healthcare as we know it. Based on community needs as shared through HBRF’s first-of-class electronic Patient Registry, as of this writing the next two trials in the pipeline are in Cerebral Palsy (CP) and Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA).
According to the National Health Institute, as many as 12,000 children born in the U.S. each year develop CP. The proposed FDA-authorized Phase II clinical trial will treat 24 children, at a projected cost of $1.7MM.
JIA affects approximately 300,000 children in the U.S. today. The proposed FDA-authorized Phase II clinical trial will treat 24 children, at a projected cost of $800,000.
How can I give?
As you plan for end-of-year, legacy, regular, or special future gifts, we hope you consider the gift of HOPE. Together, we are powerful.
HBRF welcomes gifts made in legacy and considers it a privilege to be part of honoring individuals both with us and departed.
Donations to HBRF can be made in-person at our Sugar Land location (16700 Creek Bend Drive, Sugar Land, TX 77478), by check mailed to the same address (16700 Creek Bend Drive, Sugar Land, TX 77478), or online at hopebio.org/donate.
Your gift is tax-deductible. HBRF is a federally recognized 501(c)3 organization, EIN 84–3802908
HBRF is administered by the Greater Houston Community Foundation (GHCF), which facilitates two giving opportunities that may help maximize the tax benefits of your tax-deductible gift (thank you, GHCF, for sharing the following information):
1. Donation of Appreciated Stock
You may be able to increase your gift and your tax deduction by donating appreciated stock to HBRF. Donation of publicly traded stock generally allows for a deduction of the full fair market value of the stock; this means you will not be responsible for paying capital gains tax on the amount of appreciation in that value. You will achieve a much more favorable result by donating stock rather than selling the stock and donating the cash.
To be eligible, stock generally must be publicly traded and must have been held for at least one year. Your gift of appreciated stock is fully deductible up to 30% of your adjusted gross income.
EXAMPLE
Original cost of stock: $100,000
Current fair market value of stock: $500,000
Bottom line: the charity receives more than $95,000 greater value AND the donor saves an additional $38,000 in taxes.[1]
2. IRA Distributions
Account holders can take taxable distributions from traditional IRAs without incurring penalty tax once they reach age 59 ½. Because federal income taxes were not paid at the time of contribution, withdrawals are subject to income tax. Deductions for charitable giving may, however, offset most of the tax on the distribution.
No matter what avenue is pursued, please be aware there are adjusted gross income limits on the amount of deduction that can be taken in any one year. A five-year carry forward, however, is permitted on any unused amounts. With the repeal of the Pease Amendment, at least until 2025, high income earners no longer experience a cutback in the amount of the charitable deduction they receive, thus allowing the deduction to offset a greater amount of any tax bill on an IRA withdrawal.
[1] Note: calculations assume stock was held for more than one-year and a long term capital gains tax bracket of 20%, ordinary income tax bracket of 37%, and Net Investment Income Tax of 3.8%.
