The basic balance sheet information for FY 2010-2011 is presented below. For a complete discussion of MAPS 2010-2011 fiscal year see Rick Doblin's financial report in the MAPS Bulletin, Volume 21 Number 3. You can also read MAPS’ complete IRS Form 990 for 2011 in PDF format.
Introduction
In addition to our obligation to be strategic and efficient with the funds we receive, I feel an additional obligation to be transparent about our allocation of resources and our priorities. Our goal with this financial report is to enable MAPS members and members of the public to see our priorities in action through our financial reporting. MAPS’ year-end financial reports are intended to communicate in specific detail where we allocate the funds we receive from our generous donors. Should you have any questions about any items in this report, you are invited to inquire at askmaps@maps.org.
For the first time in our 25-year history, we have chosen to pay independent auditors to evaluate our accounting so that we can report to potential funders, especially major foundations and government agencies, that we do indeed have audited financials. This initial audit of our records from Fiscal Year 2010-11 cost MAPS $15,000. Since none of our donors have yet requested audited financials, this cost is what has previously deterred us from requesting the independent review.
As MAPS grows, we anticipate that audited financials will eventually be required of MAPS, and now is the time to prepare to meet these stricter financial reporting requirements. We are now looking forward to Phase 3 MDMA/PTSD studies and the dramatically increased expenses and income needed to make MDMA-assisted psychotherapy legally available. We’re proud to make our Auditor’s Management Letter, Audit Report, and Report on Internal Controls and Compliance publicly available on our website. Josh Mojeiko, MAPS Director of Finance and Information Technology, has done a terrific job preparing our books for the audit and responding to the auditors’ many requests for documentation.
What follows is a comprehensive report and discussion of MAPS’ income and expenses for Fiscal Year 2010-11 (June 1, 2010 to May 31, 2011).
Even though the global economy continues to struggle, MAPS was able to report remarkably successful results in FY 10-11. Income was $1.47 million and expenses were $1.38 million. This results in a net gain in assets of $89,000, for a total of $1.09 million, a small step towards the roughly $8-10 million that will be needed for our Phase 3 MDMA/PTSD studies. MAPS FY 10-11 results compare to an income of $1.57 million in the previous FY 09-10, with expenses of $1.42 million. Income for FY 09-10 was higher than this year due to our major Psychedelic Science conference, which resulted in gross event income of over $300,000.
There are several key reasons for our fundraising success in FY 10-11: (a) In July 2010, we published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology the outstanding results of our initial U.S. pilot study of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for posttraumatic stress disorder, in which over 80% of the subjects with chronic, treatment-resistant PTSD lasting an average of over 20 years were cured of their PTSD by MDMA-assisted psychotherapy; (b) We initiated a new MDMA/PTSD study in U.S. veterans with chronic, treatment-resistant PTSD, a patient population for which there is profound public sympathy and for whom a broader group of donors is willing to support treatments; (c) We completed our Swiss MDMA/PTSD pilot study with results demonstrating safety and greater reductions in PTSD symptoms than in the studies resulting in the approval of Zoloft and Paxil for prescription use for PTSD; (d) We’ve continued to generate remarkably positive media, such as the March 2011 article about MAPS’ MDMA/PTSD research in O: The Oprah Magazine; and (e) the unique experience and expanding skill of MAPS’ dedicated staff.
Of MAPS’ income for FY 10-11, $1.17 million (80%) comes from a small number of major donors who give greater than or equal to $1000 per year, $138,000 (9%) from about 2000 donors who give less than $1000 per year, $94,000 (6%) from conference and events, $65,000 (4%) from product sales, and $3,000 (about .02%) from investments (interest on savings accounts and CDs).
MAPS’ single largest donation in FY 10-11 was $350,000 from a bequest by Larry Thomas, with about another $100,000 still to be disbursed in FY 11-12. Larry discussed his motivation to donate to MAPS in an interview with MAPS’ former Director of Communication and Marketing Randy Hencken. This interview was conducted several years before Larry died and was published in the MAPS Bulletin (Volume 20, Number 3). Larry’s donation is a gentle reminder that we should all consider leaving some funds to charity in our wills.
MAPS’ second largest donation in FY 10-11 was $200,000 from Ashawna Hailey, who served on MAPS’ Board of Directors. It’s with a heavy heart that I report that Ashawna recently died at age 62. We have heard that he has remembered MAPS generously in his will.
MAPS’ next largest donation was $175,000 from Peter Lewis. Joby Pritzker and his family’s Libra Foundation donated $125,000. MAPS Board Member Robert Barnhart donated $65,000. The Swift family’s Riverstyx Foundation donated $30,000. The Mental Insight Foundation and Matt Bowden/Stargate International each donated $25,000. Donations of $20,000 each were made by John Gilmore (also on MAPS’ Board of Directors), the Arsenault Family Foundation and Ian Brown (who received funds in a bequest to him which he then donated to MAPS). Rene Ruiz/Sue Mosher donated $10,000, as did MAPS-published author Marilyn Howell.
Donations less than $1000 play a major role in MAPS’ success. These unrestricted donations are important because they (a) contribute to covering operational expenses, (b) are from members who often donate their time for MAPS’ wide range of volunteer opportunities, (c) build the MAPS community, (d) lead to word-of-mouth contacts with new potential large donors, and (e) are what major donors often start giving to help them evaluate MAPS from the perspective of a member.
Concluding Comments
As this year-end financial report is being written, MAPS’ clinical research team, led by Michael Mithoefer, M.D., and Annie Mithoefer, B.S.N., is writing a scientific paper about the results of our long-term follow-up study to our initial US MDMA/PTSD study. We’ve gathered follow-up data at a mean of 41 months (almost 3½ years) after the last MDMA-assisted psychotherapy session. We’ve found that, on average, the decline in PTSD symptoms has sustained over time, demonstrating that there our experimental treatment has lasting benefits. Once this paper is published in a peer-reviewed journal, we anticipate that there will be an increased interest in MAPS’ MDMA/PTSD research by mainstream PTSD researchers, by the media, and by the public. This should help with fundraising for the expansion of our Phase 2 studies. We’ll also be working on papers about the results from our completed Swiss MDMA/PTSD pilot study and our Swiss LSD/end-of-life anxiety study, both of which demonstrated safety and trends toward efficacy and will generate additional support for our research plan.
While our U.S. MDMA/PTSD study in veterans will not be completed in FY 11-12, it will be about half completed. Media reports about this study will also generate increased interest in MAPS’ research, supporting our increasingly ambitious fundraising efforts. We a
ssume that support from the Veterans Administration for MDMA/PTSD research in veterans will not be likely until after this study is completed. This will be even more likely if we generate results in this patient population that are as compelling as those from our initial U.S. MDMA/PTSD study, which was almost entirely in survivors of rape, assault, and childhood sexual abuse.
Unfortunately, the Public Health Service rejected MAPS’ marijuana/PTSD protocol after the FDA had approved it. The PHS reviewers evaluated the protocol from a basic science perspective rather than from a drug development perspective. As a result, the National Institute on Drug Abuse will not sell us any of its marijuana. The study is temporarily halted, since NIDA has a monopoly on the supply of marijuana legal for use in federally regulated clinical research. We have received favorable media coverage for our planned marijuana/PTSD study in The New York Times, while the PHS rejection was covered critically in both an article and an op-ed in the Washington Post. We’ll reapply, of course, but getting approval for this study has become a long-term struggle, and our success will depend in part on our ability to mobilize veterans to pressure NIDA to let it take place.
Our 10-year legal struggle with the DEA is moving to the First Circuit Court of Appeals. We are still seeking to end the NIDA monopoly by obtaining a DEA license for Professor Lyle Craker of the University of Massachusetts-Amherst to produce marijuana under contract to MAPS for federally regulated research. We’re going to be tied up in the appeals process for another several years, and have fortunately obtained pro-bono legal representation from the major Washington, DC, law firm Covington & Burling.
As you can see from our projected income and expenses for FY 11-12, we’re anticipating further growth in FY 11-12. This growth is largely dependent on the willingness of current MAPS members to continue to expand their support, and on our ability to attract and retain new members. As you contemplate your own year-end charitable donations, please consider making a generous donation to MAPS and mentioning MAPS in your will.
During this 25th anniversary of MAPS, our past accomplishments justify all of us feeling proud for having worked together. Our future potential is dazzling.
MAPS’ expenses in FY 10-11 amounted to $1.38 million. Of that amount, $555,000 (40%) was for research, $278,000 (20%) was for education, $123,000 (9%) was for project-related staff/office expenses, $71,231 (5%) was for the cost of fundraising events, and the remaining 26% was for management and general operations, cost of products sold, employee benefits, and office equipment.
A more detailed list and description of MAPS’ expenses is below. From this list, the breadth of MAPS’ activities can be seen more clearly, as can our strategic priorities.
For a complete discussion of MAPS 2010-2011 fiscal year see our Winter 2011 Annual Financial Report.
For a complete discussion of MAPS 2010-2011 fiscal year see our Winter 2011 Annual Financial Report.
