Conflict of Interest

Congress created the Reagan-Udall Foundation for the FDA (the “FDA Foundation”) to support the mission of the FDA by identifying, funding, and supporting projects and programs that will help equip FDA staff with the highest caliber science and technology to enhance the safety and effectiveness of FDA-regulated projects. The FDA Foundation will not participate in regulatory matters nor will it offer advice to the FDA on policy matters. In addition, to support its independence and to maximize its scientific impact, the FDA Foundation is implementing specific guidelines and procedures that identify and avoid potential bias—and appearances of such bias—and that provide a transparent process for individual and institutional decisions.

Our bylaws outline the conflict of interest policies that have been put into place to ensure that no one entity or organization has undue influence on Reagan-Udall Foundation for the FDA initiatives and projects.

Gift Acceptance Policy

The Reagan-Udall Foundation for the FDA is an independent nonprofit corporation created by U.S. statute “to advance the mission of the Food and Drug Administration to modernize medical, veterinary, food, food ingredient, and cosmetic product development, accelerate innovation, and enhance product safety [21 U.S.C. § 379dd(b)].

The FDA Foundation has the legal authority to accept unrestricted gifts, and gifts for specific programs and purposes, provided that they are not inconsistent with the FDA Foundation’s mission, vision, or core values. The FDA Foundation may accept funds from the following sources, subject to approval by the FDA Foundation’s Board of Directors (the “Board”):

  • Federal government appropriations;
  • Individuals, as tax deductible donations;
  • Foundations and other nonprofit organizations; and,
  • Other entities, including commercial entities.

Gifts are accepted for the purpose of carrying out the duties of the FDA Foundation, including securing the operation and future growth of the Foundation and otherwise facilitating the Foundation in providing services to the FDA.

The Board maintains the discretion to accept or refuse all gifts and is charged with the responsibility of reviewing and properly screening all gifts made to the FDA Foundation. The Board may choose to refuse any gift that is deemed inappropriate for any reason, such as the appearance of, or an actual conflict of interest, unreasonable or burdensome restrictions, or costs of administration.

Please see our full gift policies on pages 7 (Article VIII: ACCEPTANCE OF DONATIONS AND GRANTS) and 13 (II. Policies for accepting funds) of the Foundation’s bylaws.

Reporting and Transparency Requirements

The FDA Foundation, through an annual report to Congress and the FDA, provides a specific accounting of the sources of all funds, including the names of individual contributors, and the use of all funds used by the FDA Foundation to carry out its activities. This annual report can be found on the FDA Foundation’s website. In addition, the FDA Foundation, as a nonprofit, is required to file IRS Form 990s every year, which also lists all sources of FDA Foundation income.