The mission of the Scleroderma Foundation is support, education and research. Our goal is to support patients and their care givers in managing the disease and its impact. As a rare disease, scleroderma is relatively unknown and is frequently not diagnosed upon first consultation with a physician. Further, the disease presents differently in patients. Our intention is to be the primary source of information, treatment options and medical resources. Our goal is to fund the research which will find effective new treatments and ultimately, the cure. At the present time, there is no known cause or cure for scleroderma.

Research is critical for determining the cause and cure of scleroderma. The Scleroderma Foundation annually funds more than a million dollars in grants to talented researchers. The grants are reviewed by the Foundation's Peer Review Committee which utilizes the rigorous National Institute of Health scoring system. The grant recipients' work is critical in achieving the ultimate goal of finding the cure. Support and education are provided to the scleroderma community in a variety of ways. Newly diagnosed patients reach out to the Foundation daily to request informational materials. During the past year, we provided 7,191 information packets to patients across the country. There are more than 3,000 discussion threads on the Inspire web community. We publish a quarterly magazine with the latest updates on treatments, clinical trials and research updates. Annually, we host a National Patient Education Conference which is attended by more than 600 people. It brings medical specialists, patients and their care givers together to learn more about scleroderma. This Conference is a highly successful strategy to inform and support our patients.

The Scleroderma Foundation is led effectively by a CEO who is well versed and tenured in the field. The Foundation employs a team of 13 talented professionals who bring a variety of experiences and education to create a highly effective team. The Foundation, also, has 20 active chapters and 160 support groups across the country who are committed to serving the scleroderma community by hosting local patient education seminars and fundraising events. In addition to an active and engaged Board of Directors, the Foundation has a Medical and Scientific Advisory Committee. The Committee is comprised of 21 medical professionals whose primary area of expertise is scleroderma. They are recognized authorities and leading experts. The Medical and Scientific Committee advises and counsels the Foundation in its work.

We know that we are making progress by measuring the metrics around those patients who seek our assistance with informational materials. We know that we are making progress by the growing attendance and interest in our National Patient Education Conference. We know that we are making progress with our research funding as more options and treatments become available due to advances in research.

Our active 20 chapters and 160 support groups are expanding our national support and education efforts. Weekly, we send out an e-letter with the latest news to over 15,000 people. Quarterly, we publish a magazine with the latest news on research and breakthroughs to 40,000 individuals. We are active patient advocates and annually bring a significant contingent to Capitol Hill to speak with our legislators about the critical importance of federal funding for research. We have grown attendance at our National Patient Education Conference every year. Most recently, our attendees have increased from 548 in 2013 to 643 in 2016. We have increased conference scholarship participants from 45 in 2013 to 59 in 2016 due to active fundraising for this important initiative. We have implemented sound business practices and expense control to insure that the maximum amount of funds raised is devoted to the scleroderma community. Our fundraising efficiency is $0. 04. The Foundation invests 84. 6% of total expenses to programs and services. Further, our support of program increases annually by 9. 5%. Our ultimate goal of finding the cure is still in the future but hopefully, the near future.