GOLD2023

FALLING FORWARD FOUNDATION INC

WE STAND FOR ABILITY®

Lawrence, KS   |  www.fallingforward.org

Mission

The Problem
Many people don't receive adequate rehabilitation to fully recover from catastrophic medical events (e.g., strokes, traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries).

Our Vision
All patients will have the opportunity to recover to their full potential.

Our Mission
We change lives by helping people restore ability and reduce disability.
We make it possible for people to recover from catastrophic medical events.

Our Actions
To achieve Our Mission, we:

1. Raise awareness of therapy caps and other barriers which inhibit patients from fully recovering,
2. Fund the continued rehabilitation of patients whose recoveries are being cut short, and
3. Advocate to reduce or eliminate therapy caps and other barriers to adequate rehabilitation.

Ruling year info

2015

Founder

Mr. Samuel Porritt III

Main address

4513 Goldfield

Lawrence, KS 66049 USA

Show more contact info

EIN

47-4332787

NTEE code info

Fund Raising and/or Fund Distribution (E12)

IRS filing requirement

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

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Communication

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Every year, millions of Americans suffer catastrophic medical events such as strokes, traumatic brain injuries and spinal cord injuries. These people need extensive rehabilitation to recover from such injuries and resume their lives. However, virtually all health insurance policies place a limit (a "therapy cap") on how much rehabilitation will be covered. The result: most people don't fully recover. They're disabled for the rest of their life, often cannot return to work, and many require ongoing medical care to manage daily living.

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?

Funding Continued Rehabilitation

Our core program is making grants to rehab centers that are used to fund continued rehabilitation for people who have reached the limit of their insurance benefits but have not reached the limit of their recovery potential.

Population(s) Served
People with physical disabilities

Where we work

Videos

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.

A lifetime of disability is NOT the only option. Rehabilitation works! The issue is whether someone will get an adequate amount of rehabilitation to allow them to rebuild abilities and regain a productive life. That's generally not the case for people with a therapy cap in their health insurance.

Falling Forward is the only nonprofit organization in America that is addressing therapy caps.

We're focused on two key strategies:

1. Funding rehabilitation --- 100% of donations go toward funding additional rehabilitation for patients after their insurance stops paying. So far, we've funded the recoveries of over 100 people!

2. Advocating to eliminate therapy caps --- Prior to 1997, there were no therapy caps. Insurance paid for the rehabilitation that each person needed, and they recovered. We're advocating to eliminate the barrier of therapy caps. So far, we've helped remove the caps on Medicare patients. Now, the challenge is making changes to commercial health insurance policies.

We are small, but mighty. Why? The results speak for themselves. Each person who receives additional rehabilitation gains abilities that they would not have had without more rehab. The people whose rehab we help fund are living proof that rehab works. They are ABLE to walk, ABLE to return to work, ABLE to live independently, ABLE to parent their children --- all things that would not be possible without additional rehab.

So, each donation helps another person recover. That person's story motivates other donations, which help another person recover. And, those same stories helped convince legislators in Washington to eliminate therapy caps in Medicare.

In six year, we've:

1. funded the recovery of over 100 people --- Instead of living with a permanent disability, these people are now ABLE to resume happy, productive lives, including being ABLE to walk, ABLE to return to work and ABLE to provide for their families.

2. took part in advocacy in Washington that convinced Congress to eliminate therapy caps for Medicare beneficiaries (effective in 2018).

What's next:

1. accelerating our fundraising efforts to support the next 100 people who need more rehab when their insurance stops paying, and

2. continuing our advocacy efforts, now focused on commercial health insurance companies, until therapy caps are eliminated in all plans.

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 demonstrated a willingness to learn more by reviewing resources about feedback practice.
done We shared information about our current feedback practices.

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

    Electronic surveys (by email, tablet, etc.), Case management notes,

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

    To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve,

  • What significant change resulted from feedback?

    Our primary mission is funding rehabilitation after insurance benefits run out. However, feedback from patients (and our rehab center partners) told us that they face many challenges, other than rehabilitation, in the recovery process. This led our Board to implement two pilot tests (which are currently underway) funding other needs that were identified as high priority needs. At one location, we are funding temporary housing (enabling out-of-town patients to continue their rehabilitation). At another location, we are funding social work services (helping patients re-integrate into society after they recover). We identified measurable outcomes for each pilot test, and will use those to assess their success.

  • With whom is the organization sharing feedback?

    Our board, Our funders, Our community partners,

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

    We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback,

  • What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

    We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback,

Financials

FALLING FORWARD FOUNDATION 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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FALLING FORWARD FOUNDATION INC

Board of directors
as of 02/16/2023
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board co-chair

Mr. Samuel Porritt


Board co-chair

Ms. Cathy Curless

Mark Ballard, CPA

BankChampaign, Champaign, Illinois

Cathy Curless

Skeet Spotser

Dipika Aggarwal

University of Kansas Health System

Sara Baker

Natalie Canuteson

A.T. Still University of Health Sciences

Tony Burgess

Tutera Senior Living and Health Care

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 ? No
  • 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? Yes

Organizational demographics

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 2/16/2023
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
Male, Not transgender (cisgender)
Sexual orientation
Heterosexual or straight
Disability status
Person with a disability

Race & ethnicity

Gender identity

 

Sexual orientation

Disability

Equity strategies

Last updated: 02/16/2023

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

Policies and processes
  • We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
  • 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.