The Beaumont Foundation

Checks should be made payable to "Beaumout Foundation " and the Memo line of the check should say "Urology - Interstitial Cystitis (or IC) Research" They should be mailed to:

The Beaumont Foundation
3711 West Thirteen Mile Road
Royal Oak, MI 48073

You can contact them for additional information at: (248)551-5330 or by visiting their website at: http://www.beaumonthospitals.com

The University of Maryland Medical School

Brian J. DeFilippis
Director, Constituent Relations
University of Maryland School of Medicine
100 North Greene Street, Suite 600
Baltimore, Maryland 21201

If anyone has a question, he can be reached at 410/706-0818.

The UREF funds some of the IC research studies currently run by Dr. C. Lowell Parsons at UC San Diego. In the past few years, Dr. Parsons has made great strides forward in the clinical care of IC patients, particularly with the creation of the PUF diagnostic questionnaire that may save thousands of patients from undergoing more painful procedures. He's studied the incidence of IC as a hidden cause pelvic pain in ob-gyn clinics across the country. He's also conducted research demonstrating that rescue instillations can be helpful in reducing IC pain and flares! You may know him most as a key researcher of Elmiron.

Urological Research & Education Foundation
PO Box 16928
San Diego, CA 92176
Tax ID: 95-3325934

The NIDDK Gift Fund

Although the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) is a federally funded organization and not a fund-raising organization, the U.S. Congress has authorized the Institute to accept contributions and bequests to support its research mission. Contributions to NIDDK are designated to the Institute's "Gift Fund" account, which is separate from the appropriation the Institute receives from Congress. Basic operating expenses and administrative costs are paid out of the Institute's appropriation, so all donations to NIDDK are used to promote or expand research, primarily in the areas of diabetes, digestive diseases, nutrition, and kidney disease.

In your letter, you MUST SPECIFY that you want the money to go to Interstitial Cystitis. If you have questions on how to make a donation to the gift fund, please contact the NIDDK Financial Management and Analysis Office at (301) 496-6064. You may also send any questions in writing to:

Financial Management and Analysis Office
NIDDK
Building 31, Room 9A31
31 Center Dr. MSC 2560
Bethesda, MD 20892-2560

The Interstitial Cystitis Network

Over the years and as the only provider of comprehensive 24 hour support in the world, we've had patients, spouses, family members, friends, medical staff and corporations ask if they should make a gift or contribution to the IC Network to support us in our work. We so greatly appreciate those who think of us for, truly, your funds have kept this site free for all patients for the past fifteen years.

Contribution Ideas:

(1) ICN Subscriptions. Our free support services are made possible by our sponsors and those patients and clinicians who are ICN Subscribers. For as little as $20 a year, you can support our work and receive our quarterly patient magazine, the IC Optimist! Please click here for more info!

(2) Contributions and Gifts to the Interstitial Cystitis Network can be made directly by patients as a direct gift to our operations. Gifts can also be made in honor of, or as a tribute to, an individual. We will send a Thank You card to the person honored. Click here to learn more about it.

(3) ICN Gift Subscriptions can be purchased for your IC patient in need if they do not currently receive the ICN newsletters and publications. Please click here for more info!

(4) Gifts of time. We have dozens of volunteers who help us throughout the year in our IC Angel programs. We so greatly appreciate those patients who are willing to help others in need. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact: jill@ic-network.com

(5) Books for Low Income Patients. Several times a year, we have patients and companies purchase books that we then distribute to low income patients who contact our office. From elderly patients to those currently on disability, this vital service is utilized each month by patients in need. Which book should you purchase?? The IC Survival Guide is the most important book that we distribute because it covers all treatments for IC and can provide legitimacy for low income patients who are struggling to receive care and support. The ICN covers all shipping expenses to deliver books to these patients. Please contact our office by phone for more info!

Important Tax Information - The IC Network is a 'for profit' publication company that offers free, comprehensive patient support via our website. Please note that your gift or contribution is not tax deductible.

In this day and age of limited resources, it's very important that you verify that a non-profit is meeting basic charity standards before you send them your hard earned dollars. Several years ago, we discovered that one group/website that said that they were a non-profit and was listed as a non-profit in a federal guide was actually a "for profit" vitamin selling business. Thus, be cautious!

The BBB Wise Giving Alliance provides a basic guideline on what you should look for, and the questions you should ask, before making a donation to ANY IC non-profit. Click here to read their Standards for Charity Accountability. This is a MUST read!

At a minimum, before you make a donation to any group please ask if the donation will be used for research or for overhead (salaries, etc.). If they are US based, request copies of their previous two annual IRS Form 990's so that you can see, first hand, how that organization uses its money. All 501(c)3 non-profits are required to provide you a copy of the IRS Form 990 within thirty days of your written request. The BBB Wise Giving Guide does maintain an archive of Form 990's for most non-profits across the country on their website.

We also suggest that you ask more about how that organization works. Do they have annual meetings where the finances are presented to the members or public?? Do they have open Board of Directors meetings that you can attend, or do they conduct business behind closed doors? Ask how you can participate in that organization. As a donor or member, do you have a voice in that group?

If you're happy with the information you receive, then support that group!

**We do not recommend donating to "IC International Umbrella Groups" that suggest that they represent patients or patient associations in many countries. We feel that your donor dollar will be more used if it is kept in the country inwhich you live, supporting that organization which works DIRECTLY with patients. You can find a list of the more than 25 national IC associations in the ICN World Center.