0
GRANTS
0
COUNTRIES
USD
1.0
MILLION
It is thanks to the support and commitment of MDRT members that this was a record-breaking year for the Foundation, awarding USD 1.8 million in grant funding impacting children, families and communities in 44 countries. MDRT members are at the center of this success. From donating their dollars, to giving their time and talents to committee and board work, to volunteering for service projects and fundraising campaigns, to endorsing charities for grant funding, MDRT members are the heart of what we do.
GRANTS BY REGION
57%
North America
29%
Asia
6%
Europe
4%
Africa
4%
Central/South America
<1%
Australia
IN 2023, THE MDRT FOUNDATION AWARDED 366 GRANTS TOTALING USD $1,789,828, ACROSS MULTIPLE FUNDING AREAS:
CHARITABLE IMPACT
GLOBAL GRANTS PROGRAM
$1,179,234
Awarded to a diverse range of charitable programs. By application process and endorsed by an MDRT member.
AREAS OF FOCUS
19%
Education and training
17%
Health and wellness/ research
17%
Human services
15%
Children's causes
9%
Disaster relief
9%
Persons with disabilities
4%
Mental health
3%
Animals and environment
3%
Food insecurity
3%
Homelessness
1%
Arts
SEPTEMBER 1, 2022 TO AUGUST 31, 2023
September 1, 2022
to August 31, 2023
Revenue and Support
September 1, 2021
to August 31, 2022
1,685,797
1,656,817
Contributions
1,288,470
$1,313,556
In-Kind Contributions
655,635
639,723
Funds Appropriated from Endowment
9,336
15,418
Other Income
3,639,238
Total Operating Income
3,625,514
Expenses
3,476,066
Total Operating Expenses
3,379,981
Investment Activity
319,399
376,283
Increase in Cash Surrender Value of Contributed Policies
537,120
502,016
Investment Income
1,045,966
(5,161,094)
Net Realized and Unrealized Investment Gains
(655,635)
(639,723)
Funds Appropriated from Endowment
104,697
118,635
Investment Advisor Fees
1,351,547
Total Operating Expenses
(4,803,883)
Temporarily Restricted Revenue
5,907
207,445
Contributions - Service Projects/Donations
Change in Net Assets
1,520,626
(4,350,905)
Increase in Net Assets
32,010,114
36,361,019
Net Assets Beginning of Year
33,530,740
32,010,114
Net Assets End of Year
HOMEDOOR
Though she was only 14 years old when she first learned about the issue of homelessness, Kana Kawaguchi felt a responsibility to help. At 19 she founded Homedoor, a nonprofit organization that works to provide accommodations and clothing to people who are unhoused, while helping them find jobs and secure apartments of their own. Because homelessness is less prevalent in Japan than in other countries, many locals may not be aware of the need for Homedoor’s work, says Masayuki Nakamura.
For the last decade, the 25-year MDRT member from Tokyo, Japan, has supported Homedoor not just with monthly donations but with eight hours of volunteer work each month while also helping the organization with networking and donating equipment such as batteries, supplies and masks during the pandemic.
In fact, seeing the influx of people needing support during and after the pandemic further enhanced Nakamura’s awareness of the importance of Homedoor, which used the MDRT Foundation grant for 20 sets of its “new life support kit,” including a futon/mattress, pot, rice cooker, kettle, bath towels, toilet paper, and many more household items and toiletries. “Miss Kawaguchi gives hope and courage to homeless people to get back on their feet,” Nakamura said. “I can confidently say that the Global Grant of the MDRT Foundation will make a difference in many lives.”
CHARITY IMPACT AT MDRT EVENTS
$250,864
MDRT Annual Meeting and Global Conference, Top of the Table Annual Meeting, MDRT EDGE, MDRT Days, service projects.
BRADY’S SMILE
Words don’t really do justice to the strain and fear felt by families as their child receives treatment at a hospital. Founded in 2008 by Annie and Matt Hinton in memory of their son Brady, who died at two years old, Brady’s Smile works with 31 children’s hospitals in 14 states to support patients and their families. That includes distributing homemade fleece blankets — dubbed Brady Blankets — to children during their time in the hospital; providing comfort bags containing the basics for caregivers and toys for kids; ensuring intensive care patients experience the benefits of listening to music; and supplying dinners for families of kids staying in the hospital.
The MDRT Foundation grant supports the expansion of Teen Totes, which launched in March 2022 and includes an assortment of items, such as coloring books, wireless Bluetooth headphones, playing cards, journals, gel pens and sports magazines, to meet the different needs of teenage hospital patients.
“One of the greatest fears a parent has is to helplessly watch their child battle a life-threatening illness,” said Howard A. Udoff, CLTC, a 19-year MDRT member from West Orange, New Jersey, USA. “Everything gets set aside and every waking moment is focused on trying to bring them comfort and support. I’m in awe of how, after having just lost her young son to a chronic illness, Annie Hinton was able to channel her energies to help others.”
SAVE JEJU BADA
The reason Hyun Suk Oh supports Save Jeju Bada couldn’t be more universal: “As inhabitants of planet Earth who depend on its ecosystem, humans must protect the environment in order to survive,” she said. “I wanted to contribute in some small way to the effort to address the environmental problem.”
It’s why, while serving as chairman for her company’s social responsibility committee, the 19-year MDRT member from Goyang-si, Republic of Korea, switched their social contribution projects to environmental efforts like Save Jeju Bada, an organization founded in 2017 to clean debris and waste from the sea. These efforts also focus on reducing garbage and recycling marine plastic waste to make camping boxes, keychains and Braille blocks for visually impaired children. By turning the issue into a community effort, Save Jeju Bada aims to foster education and involvement that can guide more people, especially young people, to recognize that to love the ocean is also to invest in its protection.
The MDRT Foundation grant goes toward supporting the participation of 350 citizens in 10 beach cleanup sessions, plus 10 environmental education sessions for 200 citizens, as well as the production of key rings made with pellets recycled from marine plastic waste to give to participants.
ALTEVETTE PROJECT
It all started with a question: “Have you ever thought about sponsoring a young girl for schooling in Nepal?” In addition to always discussing charitable giving as part of financial reviews, this friend, client and Altevette Project supporter knew Derek J. Reed, CFP, CLU, sponsored boys through Compassion International in Central America. And the 22-year MDRT member from Gloucester, Massachusetts, USA, quickly answered the aforementioned question with a resounding yes once he learned that girls’ schooling in Mustang Hills, Nepal, often stops around 13 — and the impact just USD 500 could make toward changing that.
Altevette funds educational opportunities for girls in a very remote and impoverished area near the border of Nepal and Tibet, where Altevette helped open a school in 2014 and continually needs support for teacher salaries, the school curriculum and sponsorships for young girls. The goal is to replace a cycle of illiteracy and poverty with a culture of education and investment, with kids who benefit from these opportunities growing up to become parents who value and support these experiences for their own children.
The USD 1,000 Inner Circle Grant, awarded to charities selected by Inner Circle Society donors in recognition of their USD 5,000 annual donation, goes toward building the school’s new computer lab. “I think what the Foundation is doing to acknowledge and support Inner Circle donors is fantastic,” Reed said. “It confirms and reinforces the good work we are trying to do in making a small, positive difference in the lives of many.”
TAKE A STEP, CHANGE A LIFE AND ENDORSE A CHARITY FOR GRANT FUNDING
The MDRT Foundation funds a diverse range of charities around the world through its Global Grants Program. What they all have in common is a connection to an MDRT member. The application process opens in May and is available in nine languages. The deadline to apply for the next year’s grant cycle is September 1.
CHARITY PARTNERSHIPS
SUPPORTING GLOBAL DISASTER RELIEF EFFORTS AT THE 2023 MDRT ANNUAL MEETING AND 2023 MDRT GLOBAL CONFERENCE
All Hands and Hearts (AHAH) provides on-the-ground aid to communities impacted by disaster. From providing immediate supplies of water, clothing, and food to meeting long-term needs by rebuilding homes and schools, AHAH mobilizes a volunteer workforce to spend weeks and months in disaster-affected communities. CEO Jessica Thompson spoke from the main platform stages at the MDRT Annual Meeting in Nashville, Tennessee, USA, and MDRT Global Conference in Singapore and shared stories of AHAH’s impact. She encouraged MDRT members to volunteer on an AHAH project site in the Philippines, Mexico, and the United States.
Thanks to donations received from 853 members, the MDRT Foundation awarded $159,677 to All Hands and Hearts this year.
ADDRESSING MENTAL HEALTH AT THE
2023 TOP OF THE TABLE ANNUAL MEETING
WORLDWIDE EDUCATION FUND
Kamal Daya, 45-year member, and his wife Connie established the Worldwide Education Fund (WEF) in 2009 to provide educational opportunities for children and youth in some of the poorest areas Asia, Europe, Africa and beyond. Its innovative Global Virtual School (GVS) connects, online and in real-time, teachers with students in 20 learning spaces in 9 countries.
Hear from Daya about the program and learn about the 2023 Global Grant awarded to WEF.
SUPPORTING YOUTH IN AN UNDERSERVED COMMUNITY AT THE EDGE MEETING
The MDRT Foundation awarded USD 25,000 to New Image Youth Center (NIYC), a youth organization in Parramore, Florida, USA, at the MDRT EDGE meeting. NIYC’s innovative programming, led by founder Dr. Shanta Barton-Stubbs, incorporates academic support, social development, crisis intervention, and health and wellness programs.
Meeting attendees created 200 gift bags and 48 craft jars to support youth and families in NIYC programs during a service project.
WE’RE GRATEFUL FOR THE GENEROSITY OF MEMBER, ASSOCIATION AND CORPORATE SUPPORTERS WHOSE DONATIONS PROVIDE THE FUNDING FOR OUR GRANT PROGRAMS, SERVICE PROJECTS AND OPERATIONS.
.
0
INDIVIDUAL DONORS
.
0
DONATIONS
TOTALING USD
0
MILLION
Diana Chao was 13 years old when she realized the power of writing words on paper to help give voice to her mental health struggles. Soon after she founded Letters to Strangers (L2S), an award-winning, global, youth-run mental health organization that works to destigmatize mental illness and increase access to affordable, quality treatment, particularly for youth.
Chao shared this message at the Top of the Table annual meeting with a main platform presentation and afternoon workshop. Attendees donated USD 47,923 to support L2S’s programs.
Highlighted Countries have the largest representation of donors
IN ADDITION TO THE SIGNIFICANT CASH AND IN-KIND SUPPORT RECEIVED FROM MDRT, INDUSTRY CORPORATE DONORS CONTRIBUTED USD 150,628 IN 2023.
Bruce C. Hendrickson,
CLU, ChFC
Gerald R.
Whitenack, CLU
PLANNED
GIVING DONORS
Special thanks for benefits received this year from the following life insurance or estate gifts:
2023 ANNUAL DONORS
The donors listed here are MDRT Foundation Knights who have made annual gifts between January 1 and December 31, 2023. Annual gifts can include donations, pledge payments, tributes, speaker fee donations, matching gifts, cash value of donated life insurance policies, premium payments, or appreciated securities.
2024 BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Andrew C. Lord, CLU, ChFC
President
Adrian P. Baker, Dip PFS
Immediate Past President
Alessandro M. Forte, FCII, CFP
Vice President
David C. Blake
Secretary
Heather Lindsley, LUTCF, RICP
Treasurer
M. Manmohan Abdullah, ChFC, CLU
John R. Benton Jr., ChFC, CLTC
Timothy Daniel Clairmont, CFP, MSFS
Johan Fanggara, CFP
Simon John Gibson, Dip PFS
Julianne Hertel, CLU, ChFC
Thian Lung Jong
Miliana Marten, AEPP
Addie Murdock
Paresh B. Shah, CFP
Aurora L. Tancock, FLMI, CFP
Ross Vanderwolf, CFP
Cheng Huann Yeoh, ChFC, CLU
Peggy Tsai, RFP, CCFP
Executive Committee Liaison
Executive Director
Michele L. Stauff, CFRE
2023 CORPORATE SPONSORS
PLATINUM
USD 100,000+
GOLD
USD 50,000
SILVER
USD 25,000
2023
CORPORATE DONORS
USD 2,500—24,999
AssetMark
Farm Bureau Financial Services
Ohio National
Pacific Life
Woodbury Financial
HONORING MDRT & MDRT FOUNDATION VOLUNTEER LEADERS
$147,500
Member leaders are invited to identify a charity of their choice to receive a special grant in honor of their leadership.
Includes MDRT Foundation Board of Trustees, Grants Committee, Excalibur Society, Inner Circle Society, MDRT Executive Council, Global Council, and Membership Communications Committee (MCC) leadership.
LEGACY FUND GRANTS
$130,000
Grants honoring Legacy Fund donors Mark J. Hanna and Ali Swofford.
Legacy Fund donors provide the resources and the recommendations for annual grants to be made in their name.
BOARD DISCRETIONARY
$82,230
Other charitable grants approved by the board including additional funding awarded to Global Grant recipients and MDRT meeting charity partners.