The Board of Directors of the Foundation for the Advancement of FDM Osteopathy (FAFO) dba Caring Hands FDM Osteopathy (CHFO) met for their first annual business meeting in Phoenix, Arizona February 14-16, 2026. It has been a good first year of operations, as detailed in the President’s Report to the Board. In full disclosure to our supporters, a copy of the report is attached. Please celebrate with us the successful completion of our inaugural year.
The Mission of the Foundation in part states “Continuing the healing ministry of Jesus Christ, the Foundation exists to Advance the knowledge, understanding and practice of the Fascial Distortion Model in Osteopathy through direct patient care and through research, teaching, training and equipping health care providers and students locally, nationally and globally and to oversee the services of the Foundation for the Advancement of FDM Osteopathy (FAFO)”.
Much was accomplished and the mission was carried out to the Glory of God. FDM Training Seminars were held in Burkina Faso, West Africa; Uganda, Central Africa; Des Moines University, IA; Palm Springs, CA; and Katowice, Poland. Dr. Perkins attended the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) House of Delegates meeting as a delegate of the Alaska Osteopathic Medical Association in Chicago, IL. Additionally, FDM Continuing Education Training was completed in Portugal, and additional CME was done at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) facility in Oklahoma City, OK, and in Nashville, TN where Dr. Perkins received his AOA Leadership Award. Dr. Perkins continues to see patients at Caring Hands FDM Osteopathy 2 ? days a week, and does ? day a week at Providence Alaska Family Medicine Clinic supervising Osteopathic Family Medicine Residents in training with their OMT Skills.
We anticipate additional FDM training seminars and outreach to El Salvador and to Uganda, an are looking forward to what the Lord has for us in 2026.
President’s Report to the Board
Foundation for the Advancement of FDM Osteopathy (FAFO)
dba Caring Hands FDM Osteopathy (CHFO)
It’s my honor to present this first annual President’s Report to the first annual business meeting of the Foundation. It is an opportunity to share the goodness and favor of the Lord on the Foundation and on our lives this past year.
A brief timeline: We received our official recognition as a Non-profit corporation with Notice of Incorporation from the State of Alaska, Alaska Entity #10296316 on December 12, 2024. We engaged a contractor in December to build out a treatment room adjacent to Sher’s Design, where we are seeing patients today. We purchased a computer, printer, paper supplies and basic medical equipment through S&B Enterprises LLC and agreed to reimburse those ongoing equipment and supply purchases as well as their operating expenses through the Foundation. We agreed to pay rent to S&B Enterprises, LLC, for the space being used, equivalent to the rent being paid for Sher’s Design ($1300.00), commiserate with rent and lease costs for similar properties in the Anchorage Area.
We received our Alaska Business License # 2208969 effective January 3, 2025-December 31, 2026. We received our IRS Employer Identification Number: 33-2670849 on January 6, 2025.
We obtained our Malpractice Insurance through Admiral Insurance Company Policy No.: EO000065060-01, and Facilities Insurance through Liberty Mutual Insurance effective January 29, 2025-January 29, 2026, with our Broker at Combs Insurance Agency in Palmer, AK
We purchased a contract for Electronic Medical Records through Amazing Charts on January 27, 2025, and from PC-Net to manage our IT and computer systems on February 3, 2025.
We entered a Letter of Retention ($3500) with an attorney specializing in Non-profit law, Mr. Steve Mahoney, of Manley, Brautigam, & Bankston, PC on February 5, 2025, and began the process of filing our Articles of Incorporation and securing our Non-profit status with the IRS. The Articles of Incorporation, Amended, were finalized on February 28, 2025, and approved by the Board of Directors on March 1, 2025. The By-laws were finalized and approved by electronic vote on April 9, 2025.
We saw our first patient on January 31, when our Malpractice insurance went into effect, but did not formally start seeing patients on a regular basis until March 1, 2025.
On April 5, 2025, a Travel Reimbursement Policy in compliance with the IRS requirements was approved by the Executive Committee.
We received notice from our attorney that any compensation we would receive should be within the community standards for that employment, and since Sher & I are both employees of the Foundation, action on wages, salaries, benefits and compensation should be approved by a separate committee of the Board, with an established policy that can stand the scrutiny of the IRS. A compensation package was approved in consultation with our Treasurer and Secretary, and a formal policy will be presented for adoption at this meeting.
On July 2, 2024, we received our final determination of our tax-exempt status from the IRS under Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c) 3 dated back to our initial determination by the State of Alaska on December 12, 2024. Donors can deduct contributions made to the Foundation under IRC Section 170. We are also qualified to receive tax deductible bequests, devices, transfers or gifts under Section 2055, 2106, or 2522. We are further classified as a Public Charity under 509(a)2 and are required to file an annual report with the IRS on Form 990/990-EZ/or 990-N.
In August, we engaged the services of Bryan Fick, CPA, to set up and assist with Payroll using Gusto Online Payroll System. We ran our first payroll for Sher Perkins for the entire pay period of January 1-August 29, 2025. We have maintained a bi-monthly payroll for her since. We ran our first payroll for Byron Perkins, DO for the period February 1-December 23, 2025, on the advice of our Financial Advisor. We will continue to make this payroll Bi-monthly going forward. We loaned $90,000 from our personal funds to the Foundation to be able to meet this payroll. We anticipate being able to pay it back from the Foundation to our personal funds in the first quarter of 2026.
We have chosen not to bill any Insurances, and are not on any preferred provider network, offering instead to provide services, receiving payment in full at time of service, and providing a proper billing invoice for the patient to submit directly to their insurance provider. While hoping to eliminate the paperwork and overhead burden, we have still found it necessary to assist patients in the billing process. Since I am still enrolled as a provider for Medicare/Medicaid at Providence, we learned that it is unlawful to see those patients without electronically billing, and we are not able to do this for those patients. CMS said we could see those patients and could provide the services pro-bono. As a 501(c) 3 Foundation, patients can choose to make charitable donations to the Foundation in support of the mission, and most patients have been willing to do so. The amount of pro-bono/charitable services we have provided is noted and will be reported to the IRS on Form 990 confirming the Public Charity designation we have been identified as.
In September we decided to contract with the Veteran’s Administration to provide services for veterans by referral from the VAMC. This does qualify me as a specialist providing specific services, and I have agreed to their reimbursement schedule and electronic billing system, essentially agreeing to be in “network” for them. I was in network with them when I worked at Cornerstone Health, and many of those patients advocated strongly on our behalf to be able to continue to access those services. While it is cumbersome, the opportunity to serve those who have served us was very important to me, and we are honored to do so. Unfortunately, our billings for those services to date have not been reimbursed, and that will be an ongoing issue, regardless of what insurance carrier we might have to deal with. There are accounts receivable from the VAMC/TriWest-CCN that is carried forward into 2026.
Summary of Activities 2025
| FDM Seminar/Refresher Burkina Faso, West Africa 1/12/25-1/22/25 | $2,694.04 |
| FDM Seminar Module 1 Nakalanda, Uganda 2/7/2025-2/17/25 | $8,947.45 |
| FDM Advanced CME Algarve, Portugal 2/18/25-2/24/25 | $2,694.04 |
| FDM Workshop ACOFP Palm Springs, CA 4/2/25-4/5/25 | $1,464.35 |
| FDM Seminar Module 2 Des Moines University IA 4/24/25-4/30/25 | $1,435.42 |
| FAFO FAA AME Training Oklahoma City, OK 7/13/25-7/18/25 | $2,585.60 |
| FAFO AOA House of Delegates Chicago, IL 7/18/25-7/20/25 | $770.42 |
| AFDMA FDM-IC Proctor Fairbanks, AK 8/8/25-8/9/25 | $481.82 |
| EFDMA FDMeets Katowice, Poland 9/17/25-9/22/25 | $2,488.68 |
| FAFO OMED AOA Leadership Academy Nashville, TN 9.24.25-9/28/25 | $3,303.64 |
| Total travel and related expenses that have been reimbursed to us by FAFO | $26,865.16 |
It has been a remarkable first year of operations for the Foundation. Sher was able to travel and serve with me for our first FDM Seminar in Uganda and Portugal. In addition to the work at Caring Hands FDM Osteopathy, and the training and teaching opportunities listed above, I spent 44 half days, or 176 hours supervising and serving the Residents in training at the Providence Alaska Family Practice Residency. I find that aspect of my “Second Curve” to be very satisfying, using the skills and giftings God has entrusted to me, and sharing them with young physicians in training. It is mission central to the Foundation.
The Financial report will be more detailed on the Income/Expense side of the Balance Sheet, but in summary, we received roughly $115K in Charitable Donations, $78K in Medical Services, and provided $28.5K in Pro-Bono charitable services. Expenses including start-up costs of $18.5K in 2024 were roughly $179K, for a total Net Income of Roughly $14K. We are looking forward to what the Lord has for us in 2026. Already, I was able to travel to the outback of Australia and to Northern Thailand, from December 25, 2025, through January 9, 2026, to assist in the missions work there. Those expenses are not calculated and will be included in the report for 2026. This year, I anticipate an FDM Mission for training to El Salvador in May, and to Uganda in November and I will be happy to entertain any questions.
Respectfully submitted
Byron Perkins, DO, Medical Director President,
Foundation for the Advancement of FDM Osteopathy (FAFO)
dba Caring Hands FDM Osteopathy (CHFO)
