APSA Foundation

Dr. Jay L. Grosfeld

The American Pediatric Surgical Association Foundation (APSAF) was founded in 1995 to provide support for young pediatric surgical investigators and to promote pediatric surgical research and education. The vital support provided by APSA members energizes the productivity of our young pediatric surgeon-scientists and results in important new discoveries that benefit our patients and profession. This would be impossible to accomplish without your generous financial support. .As we approach the end of another year, it is a time for all of us to consider how we can give back to our profession and assure the future of our specialty. As pediatric surgeons, all of us share in this important responsibility. I am asking each of you to consider making a special gift to support the goals and objectives of the Foundation. For those who have been generous in the past, I would urge you to continue your commitment to APSAF by making an additional gift. For members that have never donated to APSAF previously, now is the time to do so. We need you to step up, be responsible and invest in the future success of our specialty. The APSA Foundation needs your support.

APSAF is a source of essential funds to promote biomedical research in pediatric surgery. It has served as a gateway for young scientific investigators to become competitive for major external grants. Many previous APSAF scholars have successfully used their seed grants to acquire NIH funding and clearly provide justification of the tremendous return on investment experienced by the Foundation. This year we anticipate funding three research support grants and jointly with APSA have initiated a new international travel scholar program

The APSA Foundation is recognized as a tax exempt 501(c)(3) charitable organization. All gifts to the Foundation are tax deductible to the extent provided by law. In addition to a tax deductible cash gift, there are other innovative ways to support APSAF. These include providing a gift of stock from your investment portfolio. Charitable contributions from publicly traded stocks provide an attractive option for tax savings. The donor receives a charitable deduction for the fair market price of the stock while avoiding capital gains tax on any profit. The timing of your gift in 2012 is of particular value, as we anticipate a change in the federal tax laws with increasing tax rates on wages and earnings (especially for high income earners), dividends and capital gains, gift and estate transfers in 2013 if Congress doesn’t act to change the impact of the pending tax law changes.

On behalf of the Board of Directors of APSAF, I want to take this opportunity to personally thank all of our contributing members for their vital support of the Foundation.

Sincerely,

Jay

Jay L. Grosfeld, MD
Chairman, APSAF Board of Directors

APSAF Research Support Grants

How Your Donation Pays Off

Ten of the 19 recipients of the annual foundation enrichment grant award in the last decade have subsequently received external funding from the NIH or other sources following their preliminary research accomplished with APSA Foundation funds. Your tax-exempt contributions to APSAF have energized young and deserving pediatric surgeons to become some of the leading surgeon-scientists of the future.

"The 2011 APSA Foundation Scholarship has provided critical support for my laboratory to test our cutting edge ideas on intestinal regeneration. During the period of this grant, we have obtained critical supporting evidence that is now being packaged into a RO1 application that will be submitted in 2013. In a time of diminishing federal funding for basic science research, the APSA Foundation Scholarship provides a critical support mechanism for young, aspiring surgeon scientists. Without this type of support we risk losing an entire generation of surgeon scientists."

Peter F. Nichol, MD, PhD
American family Children's Hospital, Wisconsin, USA
2011 APSA Foundation Scholar

Levels of Support

All contributions, large and small, are very much appreciated. We have a number of preset contribution levels starting under $100 (regular donor) up to the $1000 Gold Supporter level. To make your philanthropic planning more streamlined, special categories of support are available that recognize individuals who have demonstrated a high level of commitment. A donation of $5000 is necessary to become a Robert E. Gross Benefactor and providing a contribution of $10,000 will allow you to be a member of the William E. Ladd Society. Your prior contributions to the APSA Foundation can be counted cumulatively towards Gross Benefactor and Ladd Society status. You may choose to submit the entire amount, the balance based on previous contributions, or pledge the remaining amount over a three-year period.

Dr. William Ladd was one of the grandfathers of Pediatric Surgery and one of the first to dedicate his entire practice to the surgical care of infants and children. Dr. Robert Gross was also one of the forefathers of childhood surgery and served as the first President of APSA. He trained many early leaders in the field and promoted the establishment of pediatric surgery as a recognized specialty. We believe this is an appropriate method of honoring their considerable accomplishments and pioneering efforts to our profession.

Recognition

All donors will be recognized for their contributions by being listed according to their level of giving (i.e. donor. Gold donor, Gross benefactor or Ladd Society) in the APSA Annual Meeting Program.

The first APSAF grant to support a pediatric surgical research scientist was awarded in 1996. We hope that each APSA member will remember the APSA Foundation in their annual giving program. The APSA Foundation welcomes the support of donors from among the new members and recent members of APSA who have yet to contribute and recognizes its sustaining contributors each year.

How to Apply for a Research Grant

Download the 2013 application form.

All applications and inquiries should be forwarded to Dr. Jay Grosfeld, chair of the APSAF Board of Directors.

2013 Research Grants will be awarded at the APSA 44th Annual Meeting, May 2-5, in Marco Island, Florida.