I received several emails yesterday via the ACCCT website re/ ACCCT and DM fund-raising & thought I would respond here where all could see, since I discovered the 'discussion' in progress. First, for those that are not clear - ACC and ACCCT are two seperate entities (they do tend to get lumped together at times).
THE BASICS - ACCCT funds as of 12/19/06 were $41688.90, w/$1012.00 Education, $28047.00 General, $2884.20 Health, $9745.09 Rescue. Current total ACCCT funds are up to $50,835.26.
Of this, $8000.00 has come direct from ACC, $7389.38 from ACC events, $9794.00 initial ACC transfer of funds - total approx. $26K. Donation may be made to any of the four funds. In the case of a specific 'cause' (such as DM) you may 'request' that your donation to the Health fund go for that purpose but there is no 'guarantee'. This issue was discussed (again) by ACCCT Trustees earlier this year and it was determined this policy would remain in place. Especially when entering into a new project, we have no idea how much ACCCT may ultimately spend - allowing donation for a specific project creates the possibility of ACCCT ending up with 'dead' money sitting in limbo - this of course does the health of our breed no good!
THE GOOD - Current ACCCT approved funding for Phase I of DM study is $3300.00. Further funds can be approved as needed. The 'success' of Phase I will determine if we move on to Phase II and III. This 'success' shall consist of finding enough dogs determined to definitely have DM (and getting samples) and interest on the part of CBR owners. So - great to see so much interest here!
THE NOT-SO-GOOD - Since mid-Feb. several pages of information on DM have been posted at ACC website (also in latest Bulletin). There has been discussion even prior to that on both this site and chesapeakesunlmt. With the exception of (I think) ONE donation in January, there have been NO donations made via the ACCCT site (PayPal) for health research! To those that donated with their ACC dues renewal - THANK YOU! To the rest - donation direct to ACCCT is tax-deductible and easy - and SHOWS your true interest in the health of our breed. We have plenty of other health issues we hope to support research on in (near) future, but we NEED the support of the CBR community! If anyone wishes to do an additional fund-raising project please contact me and I'll be happy to discuss it w/ you.
Happy Easter to all (sorry about the long post!),
Diane Mazy
ACCCT Trustee (chair)

Thanks. Please feel free to update!

Thank you Diane for this post. It does settle many questions in members minds. Please, Please keep us posted so no confusion arises.

Thanks for the clarification Diane......Updates will be much appreciated!

Norene S.