Because I know Dr. Mark Plotkin, the enthobotanist and conservationist who co-founded this organization, and I've seen the impact of their work on the expansive nature and indigenous people of the Amazon. In a sense, much of our global well-being, and much of the future of medicine (and avoiding pandemics), depends on preserving "the lungs of the planet."

QuestBridge is a powerful platform that connects the nation’s brightest students from low-income backgrounds with leading institutions of higher education and further opportunities. QuestBridge aims to increase the percentage of talented low-income students attending the nation’s best universities and the ranks of national leadership itself. I'm on their West Coast Advisory Board. 

Strong evidence of cost effectiveness in improving lives and great track record.

I believe that national parks maintain very high standards for the public to enjoy and appreciate nature. When you got to a national park, you know you are going to have an amazing nature experience.

Help make MDMA an approved medicine for PTSD. Historically, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been notoriously difficult to treat and cure, but MDMA-assisted psychotherapy holds incredible promise. In trials with 107 participants, 56% no longer qualified for PTSD. At the 12-month follow-up, 67% no longer had PTSD. Most subjects received just 2–3 sessions. All participants had chronic, treatment-resistant PTSD and had suffered from PTSD for an average of 17.8 years.

This is addressing the root causes of PTSD and not simply masking symptoms, as many maintenance drugs do. It’s actual processing instead of numbing.

On August 16, 2017, the FDA granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation to MDMA for the treatment of PTSD, and there is a clear path for making MDMA a legal medicine for millions of people who are suffering.

This is the final stretch. MAPS has until September 10 to raise $10 million in order to unlock a $10 million challenge pledge. This, combined with $10 million already committed, will complete the $30 million Capstone Campaign. This will provide the funds needed to complete the studies required for FDA approval, and bring this much-needed treatment to patients.

Learn more by listening to the 6/12 episode of The Tim Ferriss Show, which features an interview with MAPS Founder and Executive Director, Rick Doblin, Ph.D: https://tim.blog/2020/06/11/rick-doblin/

Every dollar matters, so if the spirit moves you, please consider giving what you can.

This feels like a high leverage opportunity to ease a lot of suffering and provide major improvement to many people's lives, not just those suffering directly from depression and PTSD but their families and those around them as well.

Partnering with indigenous and other local communities to protect tropical forests and strengthen traditional culture.

We see a future where healthy tropical forests and thriving local communities exist in harmonious relationship with each other, contributing to the well-being of the planet. We believe that our collective future depends on protecting these forests. Our work is focused on stopping threats to the forest and its people, or on mitigating those threats.

Amazon Conservation Team

Families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food – because all a family should worry about is helping their child live. Treatments invented at St. Jude have helped push the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20% to more than 80% since it opened more than 50 years ago. St. Jude is working to drive the overall survival rate for childhood cancer to 90%, and we won’t stop until no child dies from cancer. St. Jude freely shares the discoveries we make, and every child saved at St. Jude means doctors and scientists worldwide can use that knowledge to save thousands more children.

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

QuestBridge creates programs for talented low-income students to access exceptional educational and life opportunities.

QuestBridge has successfully shaped the lives of the most promising, low-income students in the nation and has helped them unlock billions in scholarships.

Every year, there are over 30,000 outstanding high school students from low-income backgrounds who are academically qualified to attend the nation’s top colleges. Over 80% of them do not apply to even ONE selective college and they remain highly under-represented on leading college campuses.

Many of these promising students assume they can’t afford an education at a top college. Others lack the education about what it takes to apply to a selective college, or simply assume they can’t be admitted.

When low-income students miss the opportunity to apply to and attend great colleges, this has a profound effect on their futures. Many end up reaching below their actual academic potential, or they don't attend college at all. Of those who attend college, most don't graduate.

This vast amount of untapped talent equates to a staggering loss in human potential. As America strives to remain competitive in our global society, promising students from across the economic spectrum are vital to the wealth and future of our nation-at-large.

Using innovative data methods to target and reach thousands of high-achieving, low-income students, we provide programs that help students reach their fullest potential, which could include attending a top-tier college on a full scholarship. We also provide these students with ongoing resources and a supportive community of Scholars to help them thrive in college and beyond.

QuestBridge

Prevention, control and treatment of malaria and other communicable diseases  among vulnerable populations.

Our mission is to improve lives in Africa and Asia through sustainable, evidence-based programs  that combat targeted diseases and promote child and maternal health. 

We will accomplish this together with partners and all levels of government, by:

designing and implementing cutting edge research, surveillance and monitoring and evaluation;
selectively scaling up and delivering sustainable evidence-based health programmes;
providing technical assistance and consulting services that shape and strengthen national and international health policies, strategies and systems and build local capacity;
seeking to ensure that our experience, thought leadership, practical findings and research results are effectively communicated and contribute to the coordinated improvement of access to and quality of healthcare. 
Our areas of expertise include: 
disease prevention, diagnosis and treatment
disease control and elimination
health systems strengthening
research, monitoring and evaluation leading to best practice
behavior  change communication
national and international advocacy, and policy development


Malaria Consortium

Provides crisis management, information and referrals to US Veterans and families through the Lifeline for Vets™ 888-777-4443.

To Serve the crisis management, information and referral needs of all U.S. Veterans and their families through: 1.	Management and operation of the nation’s only toll-free Lifeline and Live Chat for all veterans and their families. 2.	Public awareness programs that shine a consistent spotlight on the needs of America’s veterans. 3.	Outreach services that provide veterans and families in need with food, clothing, transportation, employment, and other essential resources.

National Veterans Foundation

To protect and enhance our national parks for present and future generations.

NPCA is an independent, nonpartisan voice working to protect and strengthen America’s favorite places.

National Parks Conservation Association

The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies supports psychedelic and cannabis research, education and policy reform.

Founded in 1986, the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) is a visionary 501(c)(3) non-profit organization ushering the safe and ethical use of psychedelics as tools for healing and growth on individual, familial, societal, and planetary levels.

MAPS’ top priority is ethically introducing global access to MDMA-assisted therapy as a treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) through regulatory approvals and training certification for therapy providers, as well as public education, policy reform, and building community support networks.

How Your Donation Will Help

While the MDMA drug development program is the main priority of MAPS, the organization's programs include research into other psychedelic compounds and provide critical resources for researchers around the world interested in studying psychedelics. These resources include assistance with protocol development and regulatory guidance, in addition to providing study drug and training for investigators. As part of its commitment to open science and open praxis, MAPS publishes its research protocols, treatment manual for MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD, published articles, and investigator's brochure on its website for free download, and actively collaborates with third-party researchers and institutions. Researchers and institutions around the world are building on the body of research that MAPS has produced.

MAPS operates a global network of intersectional education and research programs focused on the careful study of the risks and benefits of psychedelics. The education programs include: harm reduction and peer support through the Zendo Project; policy and advocacy efforts focused on community organizing and reducing barriers to research; a conflict resolution initiative for peace-building; and an active fiscal sponsorship program for fledgling mission-aligned organizations. MAPS also produces myriad educational materials, training workshops, and conferences, both physical and virtual. MAPS builds its global community of support through: outreach at events worldwide; a robust social media presence; and interviews and publications in various global media outlets. All of this work is supported by MAPS’ general operating fund. 

MAPS aims to transcend geopolitical and social boundaries and intentionally cultivates interactions with thought leaders in a broad range of interest areas and outlets that demonstrate the broad applications of the healing potential of psychedelics, and to proactively build trust and common ground with those most likely to have resistance to psychedelics.  

A Tipping Point for Psychedelic Medicine

MDMA-assisted therapy is poised to be a true breakthrough for psychedelic medicine and is the first psychedelic therapy to enter a Phase 3 clinical trial. This trial recently cleared a critical interim evaluation, with analysis confirming a 90% or greater likelihood that the final results will show significant effectiveness in treating PTSD. Achieving FDA approval for this treatment could be the tipping point to shifting psychedelics into the medical mainstream. This shift has the potential to unlock previously unavailable resources for the investigation of psychedelic-assisted treatments applied to our most critical mental health challenges: trauma, depression, addiction, anxiety, and more.

When administered in a clinical setting with trained therapy providers, MDMA has proven to be a powerful adjunct to therapy, which assists individuals in processing traumatic experiences in a deep and profound manner, leading to the alleviation of suffering. Clinical research indicates that MDMA may catalyze therapeutic processing by allowing participants to stay emotionally engaged when revisiting traumatic experiences, without feeling overwhelmed by anxiety or other painful emotions.

FDA approval of MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD could help millions of people who are suffering from trauma. A long-term follow-up study published in June 2020 demonstrated that 67% of the study volunteers (N=91) who had PTSD for an average duration of 17.8 years were still in remission and no longer qualified for a PTSD diagnosis at least 12-months following the completion of their treatment. 

While MAPS is the engine that powers this research, passionate supporters are the fuel that feeds our fire. We are inspired to press on towards the finish line of this 35-year marathon.

If you have any questions, please email us at giving@maps.org.

MAPS

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Author of 5 #1 NYT/WSJ bestsellers, investor (FB, Uber, Twitter, 50+ more), host of The Tim Ferriss Show podcast (500M+ downloads)