Support the Foundation

Fund independent education, not marketing

RUO Foundation exists to make responsible independent research easier to understand, and to hold voluntary standards higher across the research-use-only ecosystem. Donations pay for the work that fees cannot cover.

Mission

Research Use Only is a label. Knowledge should be the standard. The Foundation builds open education, plain-language regulatory literacy, transparent product and testing literacy, and a voluntary educational credential, so that people participating in this market do so with better information and better documentation. Education over ignorance. Transparency over ambiguity. Standards over assumptions.

Where donations go

Curriculum and scientific review

Largest share

Writing, updating, and independently reviewing the curriculum, knowledge checks, and examination items, including subject-matter review by people without a commercial interest in the RUO market.

Legal and regulatory review

Second largest share

Counsel review of published guidance, the seller pledge, disclaimers, and the Regulatory Library so that plain-language summaries stay accurate and clearly non-advisory.

Peptide database and Regulatory Library upkeep

Ongoing

Adding records, checking citations against primary sources, and revising evidence tiers and stated limitations as literature and regulation change.

Platform and delivery

Ongoing

Hosting, examination delivery, email delivery, security review, and payment processing fees.

Future testing literacy and laboratory capability

Reserved

Set aside toward independent analytical testing work in the public interest. No laboratory is operated today, and no testing service is offered.

Exact allocations are reported by category once the Foundation publishes its first annual report. Until then, the categories above describe intent rather than audited figures.

Tax status, plainly stated

RUO Foundation is currently a New York limited liability company formed on August 28, 2026. It is not a tax-exempt organization, no 501(c)(3) application has been filed, and donations are not tax deductible. Anyone telling you otherwise is wrong. A nonprofit conversion with an independent governance board is the intended path, and that status will be stated here only once it is real.

Conflict of interest rules

The Foundation does not sell, broker, or recommend research materials, and takes no commission, affiliate revenue, or referral fee from any seller.
No single funder may provide a controlling share of annual revenue, and funders receive no review of curriculum, examination content, or published findings before release.
Donations above a published threshold will be disclosed by source category in an annual report.
Anyone working on curriculum, examination items, or standards discloses financial interests in RUO sellers, laboratories, or manufacturers, and recuses from decisions touching those interests.

Make a donation

One-time or monthly, in US dollars. Donations do not buy membership, a credential, examination access, influence over curriculum, or any form of endorsement.

Other $