Thank you for helping us meet our 2008 research objectives. Here is some important information about acknowledgments and tax-deductibility for your 2008 year-end gift:

• All gifts received by December 31, 2008, or post-marked by December 31, 2008 and received by January 9, 2009, are eligible for 2008 tax credit.
  
  
• For contributions of $250 or more, you are required to maintain documented proof of your deduction — be sure to keep the receipt you receive from MJFF.
  
  
• In order to have acknowledgment cards sent out by December 19, 2008, your honor or memory gifts must be received (either by mail, online or over the phone) by noon on December 19, 2008. If your designated recipient has not received acknowledgment of your gift by January 9, please call us at (800) 708-7644.
  
  
• There can be significant tax benefits to donating your traditional IRA, 401K, 403b or similar tax-deferred retirement accounts to The Michael J. Fox Foundation. Under certain circumstances, you will not have to pay taxes on these accounts when you choose to participate in this way. Please keep in mind that in October the Pension Protection Act’s IRA provision, which allows those over 70½ to direct up to $100,000 from their retirement accounts to charity on a tax-free basis, was extended to include the 2008 tax year.