Launched in 2018, the Advocacy Fund is a powerful partnership between the ACR and rheumatology community stakeholders like private practices, state societies, and other provider organizations. The Advocacy Fund supports the ACR’s advocacy efforts by:

• Offsetting the cost of patient and FIT attendance at annual Advocates for Arthritis conference.
• Supporting RheumPAC fundraising and promotional activities.
• All other non-election expenditures.

RheumPAC is the ACR’s nonpartisan political action committee (PAC) that works to elect and support pro‐
rheumatology candidates and accepts contributions from individual ACR/ARP members. RheumPAC funds go directly to individual campaigns. 

The Advocacy Fund accepts contributions from entities like state societies and private practices who want to support the ACR’s advocacy efforts in a different way. Advocacy Fund dollars are spent on a variety of advocacy-related expenses and do not support individual re-election campaigns.

Soft money is raised from corporations, associations, and individuals. There are no limits on the amount of soft money a corporation or individual can contribute; however, political candidates cannot accept soft dollars directly. Contributions to the Advocacy Fund are considered soft money.

Hard money has many restrictions on how it is raised and spent and must be fully reported to the Federal Election Commission. It is raised from individuals who can contribute up to $5,000 to a Political Action Committee, like RheumPAC, per year. RheumPAC may contribute $5,000 to a federal candidate, per election.

Most corporate entities and individuals may invest in the Advocacy Fund. Typically, Advocacy Fund investors are rheumatology industry stakeholders, including independent practices and state societies.

An organization or corporation may want to support issues important to the rheumatology community but not align with supporting a specific candidate or race. The Advocacy Fund is a powerful partnership between the ACR and corporate allies aimed at protecting, promoting, and strengthening the rheumatology community. For example, a portion of Advocacy Fund dollars go directly to supporting FIT and patient attendance at Advocates for Arthritis, a cost that RheumPAC dollars are federally prohibited from covering. 

You can contribute online here.

If you prefer to send a check, you may mail it to:

800 Maine Ave SW, Suite 309 | Washington, DC 20024

If you prefer to contribute via ACH or wire transfer, please contact pcolston@rheumatology.org.