American Kennel Club Canine Health Foundation, Inc.

Within our mission and vision, the AKC Canine Health Foundation has three primary goals:
1. To fund canine health research projects to the Foundation's capacity which address the diversity of canine health concerns and may have comparative medicine benefits for humans.
2. To select and monitor, through a rigorous process, research projects that meet high scientific standards and have the greatest potential for advancing the health of dogs.
3. To communicate to the dog-owners, veterinarians and the scientific community funded discoveries that help prevent, treat and cure canine diseases.

The AKC Canine Health Foundation supports research that will improve the health and lives of all dogs. The Foundation achieves this by awarding grants to scientists and professionals in research that concerns the origins of canine illness, the diagnosis of canine diseases, the development of effective treatments, and the identification of disease prevention strategies. 1. Fund canine health research projects through two main grant types: a. OAKs grants are research projects solicited via requests for proposals, submitted through a tiered application process, reviewed by internal and external expert reviewers, and approved by the Board of Directors. b. ACORNs are seed grants also solicted via request for proposals to be reviewed and approved by volunteer experts on the Scientific Review Committee. 2. The Foundation's established grants review process is rigorous and stringent. Applications are reviewed internally by dedicated professionals and are subjected to reviews by experts in the application's field of study. 3. The Foundation's process is distinctive in that it gathers information about canine health priorities from the AKC Parent Clubs as well as dog owners, breeders, veterinarians, academic institutions, and researchers. We encourage investigators to submit applications based on this feedback. 4. The Foundation raises the funds needed to support the canine health programs through contributions from corporate alliances, dog club organizations, and individuals. 5. As a public not-for-profit 501(c)3 foundation, the Foundation is dedicated to using its fiduciary responsibility to maximize canine health funding opportunities. 6. The Foundation follows generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and is dedicated to maintaining data integrity in all financial areas. 7. To ensure financial stability, the Foundation's accounting operations include: a. Evaluating and updating internal controls b. Providing timely financial reporting and financial statements c. Performing an annual external audit d. Closely monitoring the composition and performance of the Foundation's investment portfolio e. Planning, preparing and implementing an annual budget f. Updating financial forecasts quarterly g. Performing cash flow analysis and cash disbursement planning h. Ensuring compliance with all local, state, and federal regulations regarding charitable solicitations 8. The Foundation provides educational material through multiple venues to reach audiences interested in canine health. These include symposia, electronic and traditional mailings, online website, podcasts, webinars, and scientific conferences.

Since 1995, the AKC Canine Health Foundation has become the largest funder of exclusively canine health research in the world. The Foundation raises funds to support quality research to discover: (1) causes of disease; (2) earlier, more accurate diagnoses; (3) better, more effective treatments. 1. The Foundation provides annual budgeted funding of approved OAK and ACORN grants which have been evaluated for scientific soundness, based on an assessment of the Foundation's financial strength. 2. The Foundation maintains an endowment that provides additional support and stability to the Foundation. In addition, the Foundation uses prudent investment strategies in order to weather the changing economic and political climate. 3. The Foundation's staff is internally responsible for financial reporting, analysis, and day-to-day accounting functions. The Foundation's finance department ensures timely filings and compliance of all state and federal regulations, including tax filings. 4. The Foundation's Board of Directors provides oversight to the Foundation and ensures operational and fiscal responsibility with an independent audit and finance committee. 5. The Foundation employs individuals with expertise in scientific research, negotiations, financial accounting, foundation leadership, business process development, grant management, non-profit development, fundraising, donor relations, and club relations. 6.The Foundation's internal project assessment team includes volunteers passionate about canine health and professionals in veterinary medicine, clinical medicine, and various fields within scientific research. 7. The Foundation's grantmaking operations follow the procedures documented in the Foundation's policies & procedures. The processes are periodically reviewed and improved to incorporate best practices in grantmaking, technological advancements, and growth of the Foundation's capabilities. 8. The Foundation has a unique relationship with the AKC Parent Clubs and breed foundations. Each organization may designate a Health Liaison to work with the Foundation and their club's Board of Directors to identify breed-specific health concerns, fundraise for canine health research, and sponsor grants of particular interest to that breed or club. 9. The Foundation has invested in technology solutions that provide efficient and accurate processing of grant, donor, and financial information. These include Blackbaud's Grantmaking grant management system which provides for online application submission and proposal review capabilities, Blackbaud's Raiser Edge for donor management, Blackbaud's Financial Edge for financial management, and Luminate Online marketing and content management capabilities. 10. To educate about canine health, the Foundation's established programs include breeder symposia throughout the country, live webinars, scientific conferences, videos of scientific presentations, regular print and e-newsletters, and online resources.

The donors who contribute to the AKC Canine Health Foundation have invested significantly in our organization. They invest time by surveying their breed associations about their health concerns, they invest their money through sponsorship of research, and most importantly, they invest trust in the AKC Canine Health Foundation that their time and money are used wisely. While both the AKC Canine Health Foundation and the researchers we fund have the desire to solve our health problems, the complexity of many canine diseases makes it impossible to hit a homerun in a single project. Rather, the success or failure of biomedical research is measured by the contribution of a given project to the greater understanding of the disease under study. One tangible measurement of this contribution is through peer-reviewed publication of study results. Peer-reviewed publications are accessible to all researchers in the field, and each paper becomes the next stepping stone on the path to solving the problem and finding a cure. The AKC Canine Health Foundation rigorously tracks the tangible outcomes of our funded research (>1,040 grants awarded worldwide). We regularly evaluate both the quantity and quality of the publications that result from donor investments. Quantity is easily defined: As of March 2024, the AKC Canine Health Foundation has contributed to more than 1,000 peer-reviewed publications in veterinary journals, such as the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine, and journals with broad biomedical community readership, such as Science and Nature Genetics. Quality is less easily defined, but can be measured by how many times original projects funded by the AKC Canine Health Foundation were cited or used by another investigator to make strides in the area of study. As of March 2024, AKC Canine Health Foundation-sponsored publications have been cited more than 34,000 times, independently from the original research group. Importantly, every year we grow in our contribution to canine health and biomedical research.