PLATINUM2024

ASSISTANCE FUND INC

aka TAF and The Assistance Fund   |   Orlando, FL   |  https://tafcares.org/

Mission

Our mission is to provide underinsured people living with life-threatening, chronic, and rare diseases access to critical treatment through financial assistance, education, and advocacy. Our vision is to see the day when no person goes without treatment because of an inability to pay.

Notes from the nonprofit

Thank you to the healthcare providers, our patients, TAF staff, and our generous donors who allow us to assist so many people in need each year.

Ruling year info

2009

President and CEO

Danielle Vizcaino

Main address

8427 Southpark Circle Suite 100

Orlando, FL 32819 USA

Show more contact info

EIN

27-0270731

NTEE code info

Fund Raising and/or Fund Distribution (G12)

Human Service Organizations (P20)

Alliance/Advocacy Organizations (E01)

IRS filing requirement

This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.

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Communication

Blog

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

When a doctor prescribes a medication to a patient, nothing should stand in the way of the patient receiving that medication. Removing barriers to treatment access is the work of The Assistance Fund, an independent charitable patient assistance organization. We help patients and families who have been diagnosed with life-threatening, chronic, and rare diseases through financial assistance for their copayments, coinsurance, deductibles, and other health-related expenses.

Our programs

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?

Multiple Sclerosis Copay Assistance Program

Provides eligible underinsured individuals with financial assistance to cover all or part of the individuals’ out-of-pocket cost for the supported medications. These programs give individuals the ability to afford their medications.

Population(s) Served
Adults

Provides financial assistance to persons diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis that need assistance paying for their monthly health insurance premiums, travel and incidental medical expenses.

Population(s) Served
Adults

Provides eligible underinsured individuals with financial assistance to cover all or part of the individuals’ out-of-pocket cost for the supported medications. These programs give individuals the ability to afford their medications.

Population(s) Served
Adults

Provides financial assistance for medication copays, health insurance premiums, and basic healthcare needs to children and adults.

Population(s) Served
Adults
Children and youth

Provides eligible underinsured individuals with financial assistance to cover all or part of the individuals’ out-of-pocket cost for the supported medications. These programs give individuals the ability to afford their medications.

Population(s) Served
Adults

Provides financial assistance for medication copays, health insurance premiums, and basic healthcare needs to children and adults.

Population(s) Served
Adults

Provides eligible underinsured individuals with financial assistance to cover all or part of the individuals’ out-of-pocket cost for the supported medications. These programs give individuals the ability to afford their medications.

Population(s) Served
Children and youth

Provides eligible underinsured individuals with financial assistance to cover all or part of the individuals’ out-of-pocket cost for the supported medications. These programs give individuals the ability to afford their medications.

Population(s) Served
Adults

Provides eligible underinsured individuals with financial assistance to cover all or part of the individuals’ out-of-pocket cost for the supported medications. These programs give individuals the ability to afford their medications.

Population(s) Served
Adults

Provides financial assistance for medication copays, health insurance premiums, and basic healthcare needs to children and adults.

Population(s) Served
Adults
Children and youth

Provides eligible underinsured individuals with financial assistance to cover all or part of the individuals’ out-of-pocket cost for the supported medications. These programs give individuals the ability to afford their medications.

Population(s) Served
Adults

Provides eligible underinsured individuals with financial assistance to cover all or part of the individuals’ out-of-pocket cost for the supported medications. These programs give individuals the ability to afford their medications.

Population(s) Served
Adults

Provides eligible underinsured individuals with financial assistance to cover all or part of the individuals’ out-of-pocket cost for the supported medications. These programs give individuals the ability to afford their medications.

Population(s) Served
Adults

Provides eligible underinsured individuals with financial assistance to cover all or part of the individuals’ out-of-pocket cost for the supported medications. These programs give individuals the ability to afford their medications.

Population(s) Served
Adults

Provides eligible underinsured individuals with financial assistance to cover all or part of the individuals’ out-of-pocket cost for the supported medications. These programs give individuals the ability to afford their medications.

Population(s) Served
Adults
Children and youth

Provideseligible underinsured individuals with financial assistance to cover all or part of the individuals’ out-of-pocket cost for the supported medications. These programs give individuals the ability to afford their medications.

Population(s) Served
Infants and toddlers

Provides eligible underinsured individuals with financial assistance to cover all or part of the individuals’ out-of-pocket cost for the supported medications. These programs give individuals the ability to afford their medications.

Population(s) Served
Adults

Provides eligible underinsured individuals with financial assistance to cover all or part of the individuals’ out-of-pocket cost for the supported medications. These programs give individuals the ability to afford their medications.

Population(s) Served
Adults

Provides eligible underinsured individuals with financial assistance to cover all or part of the individuals’ out-of-pocket cost for the supported medications. These programs give individuals the ability to afford their medications.

Population(s) Served
Adults

Provides eligible underinsured individuals with financial assistance to cover all or part of the individuals’ out-of-pocket cost for the supported medications. These programs give individuals the ability to afford their medications.

Population(s) Served
Adults

Provides eligible underinsured individuals with financial assistance to cover all or part of the individuals’ out-of-pocket cost for the supported medications. These programs give individuals the ability to afford their medications.

Population(s) Served
Adults

Provides eligible underinsured individuals with financial assistance to cover all or part of the individuals’ out-of-pocket cost for the supported medications. These programs give individuals the ability to afford their medications.

Population(s) Served
Adults

Provides eligible underinsured individuals with financial assistance to cover all or part of the individuals’ out-of-pocket cost for the supported medications. These programs give individuals the ability to afford their medications.

Population(s) Served
Adults

Provides eligible underinsured individuals with financial assistance to cover all or part of the individuals’ out-of-pocket cost for the supported medications. These programs give individuals the ability to afford their medications.

Population(s) Served
Adults

Provides eligible underinsured individuals with financial assistance to cover all or part of the individuals’ out-of-pocket cost for the supported medications. These programs give individuals the ability to afford their medications.

Population(s) Served
Adults

Provides eligible underinsured individuals with financial assistance to cover all or part of the individuals’ out-of-pocket cost for the supported medications. These programs give individuals the ability to afford their medications.

Population(s) Served
Adults

Provides eligible underinsured individuals with financial assistance to cover all or part of the individuals’ out-of-pocket cost for the supported medications. These programs give individuals the ability to afford their medications.

Population(s) Served
Adults

Provides eligible underinsured individuals with financial assistance to cover all or part of the individuals’ out-of-pocket cost for the supported medications. These programs give individuals the ability to afford their medications.

Population(s) Served
Adults

Where we work

Videos

Our results

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.

Number of patients served

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Holding steady

Context Notes

The more disease programs we're able to open, the more patients each year we can serve.

Number of Facebook followers

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

Facebook followers at the end of each calendar year.

Number of phone calls and online chats

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Type of Metric

Context - describing the issue we work on

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

An online chat feature was added to help more patients with their immediate questions. An increase in inquiries reflects a growth in programs offered and greater internal capabilities to field calls.

Total dollars received in contributions

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Type of Metric

Input - describing resources we use

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

In 2016, The Assistance Fund had 26 disease programs. By the end of 2023, TAF had 89 disease programs. With more programs open we are able to serve more patients.

Goals & Strategy

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.

Charting impact

Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.

The Assistance Fund's four principal goals are:
1) Increase and diversify funding sources.
2) Increase the number of new patients and increase retention levels.
3) Expand program base while continuing to promote program integrity, accountability, and transparency.
4) Be the pre-eminent organization for patient financial assistance programs while strengthening partnerships among all stakeholders to increase awareness in the communities we serve.

The Assistance Fund is committed to helping patients who struggle with paying for their chronic illness medication. Since our 2009 inception, The Assistance Fund has assisted more than 190,000 children and adults with more than $1 billion in charitable contributions. We constantly search for new ways to help our patients afford their treatment.

We are committed to being patient-centered and making it a quality benchmark to deliver dignified assistance to grow our patient satisfaction.

The Assistance Fund continues to challenge itself to be the best at providing patients access to treatment. It is our continued journey and vision to build healthier minds and communities across the United States.

Our disease programs make access a reality by placing us at the forefront of taking care of patients. Through our advancements, we are dedicated to increase speed-to-service and delivery while ensuring that the highest percentage of donations go to patient care. Our processes helps us to remove financial obstacles faced by families and to streamline access to their medications.

We value and care about each other, operate with a generosity of spirit and commitment, and have fun in the process of working together. To maximize our collective impact, we inspire, challenge, and support each other to be our best and sustain our effort.

In the last few years, The Assistance Fund has added dozens of new disease programs to its growing portfolio of services. Currently, we offer our services for nearly 100 disease programs. We also reduced our operating costs and now dedicate a minimum of $0.94 of each dollar raised directly to our patients' needs. Additionally, we added a National Medical Advisory Board so that we can continue to offer the best possible services and assistance to our patients while remaining on the cutting edge of technology and being the best stewards of our donors' monies.

How we listen

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.

done We shared information about our current feedback practices.

  • How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?

    To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve

  • Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?

    We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We act on the feedback we receive

  • What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

    It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback

Financials

ASSISTANCE FUND INC
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Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

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Connect with nonprofit leaders

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  • Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
  • Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
  • Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations

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lock

Connect with nonprofit leaders

Subscribe

Build relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.

  • Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
  • Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
  • Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations

Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.

ASSISTANCE FUND INC

Board of directors
as of 05/30/2024
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board chair

Mr. Jeff Milford

Courtney Leasing, Inc.

Term: 2023 -

Justin Aronson, JD

Coon & Cole, LLC

Julie Judge

Foundation Partners Group

Ellen Feinstein, RD, MHA, FACHE

University of Chicago Medicine

Kristen D.W. Morris

Atrium Health

Lawrence Hatch

beriaBank Private Client Group

Brett Kopelan

debra of America

Board leadership practices

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.

  • Board orientation and education
    Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes
  • CEO oversight
    Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Not applicable
  • Ethics and transparency
    Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes
  • Board composition
    Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes
  • Board performance
    Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Not applicable

Organizational demographics

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 7/27/2023
info Candid has made improvements to the race and ethnicity options.

Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.

Leadership

The organization's leader identifies as:

Race & ethnicity
White/Caucasian/European
Gender identity
Female

Race & ethnicity

Gender identity

Transgender Identity

Sexual orientation

No data

Disability

No data

Equity strategies

Last updated: 09/08/2023

GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more

Data
  • We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
  • We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
  • We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
  • We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
  • We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
  • We disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured.
  • We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
Policies and processes
  • We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
  • We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
  • We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
  • We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
  • We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
  • We measure and then disaggregate job satisfaction and retention data by race, function, level, and/or team.
  • We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.