2015 Annual Report

The Foundation for Rehabilitation Psychology (FRP) was established in 2005 by a group of past presidents of the Division of Rehabilitation Psychology (Division 22) of the American Psychological Association (APA). They envisioned the Foundation as the means through which all who care about the future of Rehabilitation Psychology could invest in its vitality and growth through tax-deductible donations and planned gifts.

ACTIVITIES

The Foundation for Rehabilitation Psychology is a charitable 501(c) 3 corporation. In 2013 the FRP Board completed strategic planning resulting in an enhanced mission and vision statement, with specific strategies, goals and timelines delineated for the subsequent five years. The mission is “Advancing the Psychology of Disability and Chronic Health Conditions” with a vision of improving society by making the foundational insights of the psychology of disability and chronic health conditions common knowledge. Specific strategies were formulated and are being pursued including updating the FRP Board composition, better communicating the foundational principles of rehabilitation psychology, increasing the donor base, and enhancing the foundation’s research support capacity. During 2015, Dr. Scott Richards has worked with Division 22 to enhance the FRP presence on the Division’s new website. Dr. Barry P. Nierenberg is coordinating ongoing submissions of classic papers reflective of “foundations from the Foundation”: the FRP’s strategy of highlighting the field’s academic legacy. Dr. Steve T. Wegener and others have spearheaded development of a special issue of Rehabilitation Psychology reflective of our field’s foundational principles; this should be available in early Spring, 2016. FRP has allocated funds to pay for making this open access; that negotiation is still in progress as of the writing of this report. Several activities at the Mid-Winter meeting in February 2016 have been sponsored by FRP including a symposium with several authors from the special issue, and the newly inaugurated Tom Martin FRP Ethics session, named after a Division 22 member who died in 2015. Dr. Dawn Ehde continues to coordinate the process of soliciting and selecting dissertation and student research award winners. We had the most applications for dissertation awards ever this year: eight. The Science Committee of Division 22 for the first time this year did the judging for these awards. Student member, Gillian Mayersohn, is leading the effort to develop a new logo for FRP.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND GOALS

The Board planned on distributing grants when the Foundation’s funds reached $100,000. We reached that level in 2012 after seven years of the Foundation’s existence. Expenditures in 2015 in support of the field were as follows:

ANNUAL CONFERENCE SUPPORT

The Foundation provided a $500 grant to support the 2015 Rehabilitation Psychology Annual Conference and committed a similar amount to the 2016 meeting. This grant makes the educational meeting more affordable for rehabilitation psychologists and graduate students. Grants in support of the conference were made in the six previous years.

STUDENT RESEARCH AWARDS

The Foundation provided $500 for student research awards at the 2015 annual conference and committed $1000 for the 2016 meeting.

DISSERTATION AWARDS

Three awards totaling $6720 plus $500 travel costs for each awardee were allocated this year adding to the total of 10 dissertation awards granted since 2012. The awardees this year include:

STUDENT AWARDS FOR THE REHABILITATION PSYCHOLOGY 2016 MEETING

Oral presentation award:

Amanda Childs: MMPI profiles of outpatients with mild traumatic brain injury: What’s the norm?

Poster Awards:

Sarah H. Kornfield: Relationship between subjective mental health and neurocognitive impairment on employment status in combat veterans with and without mild traumatic brain injury

Hannah M. Lindsey: Changes in white matter integrity following neurorehabilitation: A diffusion tensor imaging study of adults with chronic traumatic brain injury

Hillary A. Parker: Self-efficacy, health behaviors, and functional independence in persons with acquired brain injury

FUNDRAISING GOAL

The Foundation’s intermediate fundraising goal is to raise $40,000 with the intention of sustaining and enhancing the level of conference and student support. The long-term goal is to establish an endowment of $1 million. This endowment will permit investment earnings to substantially underwrite the annual conference and provide graduate student dissertation research grants in perpetuity.

FUNDS

In addition to a General Fund, the Foundation for Rehabilitation Psychology has established two special funds that align with our mission and honor two individuals with notable contributions to our field.

The Bernard Brucker Continuing Professional Educational Fund supports the Rehabilitation Psychology annual meeting. Bernie was a President of Division 22, a founding member of FRP, and a founding member and President of the American Board of Rehabilitation Psychology. He was also an innovative researcher and internationally renowned speaker until his death in 2008. Donations to this fund are passed through annually to support the Mid-Winter meeting.

The Mitchell Rosenthal Fund provides funds to support doctoral dissertation and student research in Rehabilitation Psychology. Dr. Rosenthal was a President of Division 22 and a founding member and President of FRP until his death in 2007. He was also a founding member and President of the American Board of Rehabilitation Psychology. He was a world-renowned leader in the field of brain injury rehabilitation as a researcher, writer, and mentor to hundreds of students and colleagues.

ENDOWMENT FUND MANAGEMENT

The Foundation for Rehabilitation Psychology works with the Columbus Foundation, a large community foundation, to manage the operational aspects of our endowment. Their low fees minimize expenses and allow the Foundation to function without paid staff. The Columbus Foundation offers over 70 years of experience and manages over $1.5 billion in assets. They have expertise in planned giving and consult with donors for gifting in their wills. The addition of the capacity to set up automatic monthly contributions to FRP should enhance giving over time.

YEAR-END FINANCIAL SUMMARY FOR 2014

The Foundation maintains a checking account for small expenses; the balance at the end of 2015 was $3143. The Columbus Foundation maintains the “Foundation for Rehabilitation Psychology Organization Endowment Fund (2306)” with assets of $119,551 at the end of 2015. Total assets of the Foundation at the end of 2014 were $122,694.

DONORS TO THE FOUNDATION FOR REHABILITATION PSYCHOLOGY

(as of February 1, 2016)