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How We Spend Donated Money

A Message From Dr. John C. Lowe,
Director of Research

Each year, many billions of taxpayers' dollars are funneled into big research bureaucracies. The record shows that the public gets precious little in return for this fortune in funding of big institutional science. We at FRF feel that those who donate money for research deserve more—they deserve substantial positive and practical results for their money. And this is exactly what comes from dollars donated to FRF.

The FRF study that we describe in the right sidebar is of practical value to fibromyalgia/thyroid patients and their clinicians. Many of them use the basal body temperature to make decisions about thyroid hormone therapy. The therapy must be done right if the patients are to recover from their fibromyalgia symptoms, and for that purpose, the basal body temperature has long been used. The results of the study are truly of practical value to patients and their clinicians who use the basal temperature.

As almost always over the last twenty years, no FRF money was used to pay the expenses of the study. Expenses were incurred to obtain  equipment and supplies, to conduct the study, tabulate the collected data, run statistical analyses, and prepare and publish the study report. All costs were absorbed by FRF personnel who took part in the study.

We at FRF have never spent donated money—or any other forms of contribution—on large, luxurious facilities with elaborate furnishings and equipment; nor have we spent money on personal indulgences, such as expensive meals as sites for meetings. In fact, for most of its history, FRF was housed partly in a donated office in my private clinic, and office space in the home of Jackie Yellin (our Director of Education) and Michael Yellin, CPA (our Secretary).

FRF also doesn't spend donated dollars on salaries and benefits. For the first twenty years of FRF's existence, no one who worked on behalf of FRF (doing research, providing education, or managing its operation) was financially compensated for his or her services. Each person worked entirely on a volunteer basis.

After twenty years, we realize—and painfully so—that our policy of all-volunteer workers has cost us dearly through sluggish progress. Most people whose work is crucial to FRF's progress have had little time free from incoming-generating work to contribute to FRF's projects. This has kept us from meeting many of our objectives. What brought us to this realization was our need for the published results of three studies we conducted and should have published some two-years before. But the studies are not yet published. This has especially compromised us in our ability to persuade clinicians accept several beliefs that are crucial to many patients recovering their health. Those beliefs are that T4 replacement is ineffective and harmful to many fibromyalgia/thyroid patients; that compared to T4, T3 alone and desiccated thyroid are more stable, effective, and safe; and that lowering or suppressing most fibromyalgia/thyroid patients' TSH levels is essential if they are to recover.

Our reassessment of our previous all-volunteer policy tells us that it has severely slowed our progress, and that to serve patients and clinicians better, we must make it possible for FRF personnel to invest the time and energy necessary to expeditiously finish out projects.

Our Board of Directors have voted to enlist help in raising needed funds to compensate FRF personnel who must forfeit income from other sources to take part in reaching scheduled objectives on time. Unlike the standard practice at big institutional science organizations, FRF will compensate FRF personnel fairly and equitably and without indulgencies at our donors' expense. With this change, we expect to now complete projects on schedule. And in this way, we believe we'll serve better the fibromyalgia/thyroid patients we're committed to helping.

Hence forth, then, FRF will use some of its funds to equitably  compensation some FRF personnel, freeing them to work diligently at helping move the organization's mission forward.  As in the past,  donated money necessary will be used in two other ways: (1) to pay research costs (for example, placebo and active capsules to be used in clinical trials, Holter-monitor and ECG/EKG equipment and supplies, specialty statistical software, and reimbursement for out-of-pocket costs to clinicians who participate in FRF studies); and (2) to pay for educational materials for the public, patients, and clinicians, and technical equipment and professional services for producing Internet-based educational programs.

The fact has been well publicized that some research organizations spend up to 90% of donated money for facilities, salaries, luxury indulgences of administrators, and benefits to employees. In stark contrast, we  remain committed to our policy of using the vast amount of money donated to FRF to pay research and education costs. By doing so, we'll continue to return positive, practical, and meaningful results for the money and other contributions donors entrusts to FRF.

Thank You For Your Continuing
Support of Our Research