The Davis Phinney Foundation is a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

to help people with

Parkinson's Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become more prevalen ...

live well with the disease. It was founded in 2004 by

Davis Phinney Davis Phinney (born July 10, 1959) is a retired professional road bicycle racer from the United States. He won 328 races in the 1980s and 1990s, a record for an American, including two Tour de France stages. He has worked in media since retiring ...

, a former professional

road bicycle racer Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and spectators. The two most com ...

and

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

medal winner. Today, Davis is a figure in the cycling community and people living with Parkinson's (estimated 60,000 Americans and estimated 10 million worldwide). The Foundation is a

501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, Trust (business), trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of ...

public charity that functions without an endowment and depends on donations from individuals, foundations and corporations. It reaches an international audience through its programs and online programming.

History

As an Olympic Bronze medalist and

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race held primarily in France. It is the oldest and most prestigious of the three Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours, which include the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a ...

stage winner, Phinney has the most victories of any cyclist in American history. From the late 1970s until his retirement from professional cycling in 1993, Phinney achieved 328 victories. Phinney is one of only three Americans who have won multiple stages of the Tour de France.

Greg LeMond Gregory James LeMond (born June 26, 1961) is an American former Road bicycle racing, road racing cyclist. He won the Tour de France thrice and the UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race, Road Race World Championship twice, becoming t ...

and

Lance Armstrong Lance Edward Armstrong (''né'' Gunderson; born September 18, 1971) is an American former professional road bicycle racing, road racing cyclist. He achieved international fame for winning the Tour de France a record seven consecutive times fro ...

are the others. In 2000, Phinney was 40 when he was diagnosed with young-onset

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

after years of feeling "off". Shortly after his Parkinson's diagnosis, Davis and his family moved to Italy. While living there, Phinney was contacted by Kathleen Krumme, a cyclist who asked Phinney to let her use his name in conjunction with her ride (the Sunflower Revolution) to benefit Parkinson's. From this connection, the Davis Phinney Foundation was born. Phinney realized there were many ways he could improve the quality of his daily life with Parkinson's, including through exercise. He started the Davis Phinney Foundation as a way to fund and advance research that demonstrates the benefits of

exercise Exercise or workout is physical activity that enhances or maintains fitness and overall health. It is performed for various reasons, including weight loss or maintenance, to aid growth and improve strength, develop muscles and the cardio ...

speech therapy Speech is the use of the human voice as a medium for language. Spoken language combines vowel and consonant sounds to form units of meaning like words, which belong to a language's lexicon. There are many different intentional speech acts, suc ...

, and other behavioral elements that are critical to quality of life with Parkinson's. It has since expanded to include a variety of programming that helps people with Parkinson's take a more active role in their own care."Davis Phinney"
, Speaker Biographies, Windrose Media

Research

The Davis Phinney Foundation funds research that explores a range of factors that affect quality of life. Its primary interest is in funding research related to exercise; however, it has also funded research in depression, telemedicine,

deep brain stimulation Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a type of neurostimulation therapy in which an implantable pulse generator is stereotactic surgery, surgically implanted subcutaneous tissue, below the skin of the chest and connected by Lead (electronics), leads ...

and speech. The tendency is to fund smaller, innovative studies that lead to proof of concept and greater funding from larger institutions, such as the

National Institute of Health The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in 1887 and is part of the United States Department of Health and Human Servic ...

and the Michael J. Fox Foundation.

Fundraising activities

The Foundation's

grassroots fundraising In politics, grassroots fundraising is a fundraising method that involves mobilizing local communities to support a specific fundraising goal or campaign. It has been utilized by American presidential candidates like Howard Dean, Barack Obama, Ron ...

initiative raises funds and awareness for Parkinson's disease. Team DPF members turn all types of events and activities, from bike rides and runs, to mountain climbs, to sales of original works of art into fundraisers benefiting the Foundation. The Davis Phinney Foundation also has a Pay It Forward initiative tied to The Victory Summit symposia, wherein attendees of the free events are asked to donate in order to fund future events. Fully 81% of the Foundation's revenue is devoted to funding program services.

References

{{authority control Health charities in the United States Parkinson's disease organizations Neurology organizations Medical and health organizations based in Colorado