Dino Prato founded the Fullness of Life Foundation (EIN 20-2571096) in July 2005.
For the tax year 2005, Dino Prato is listed as the president, and Sandy Yozipovic, a senior national sales director partner of Primerica Financial Services, is listed as the co-chair.
The purpose of the foundation is listed on their Form 990 as:
Provide Educational Services Involving Homeopathic, Naturopathic, and Integrative Health Remedies.
On their website, the Fullness Foundation states their mission as:
The purpose of our foundation is to raise millions of dollars through our annual fundraising events. Our “Give Them Wings” program will provide scholarships to help relieve the financial burden that every family faces when they have a child diagnosed with cancer. The scholarship program is currently being built.
The Fullness of Life Foundation funded Poly MVA treatments for Riley, a 14-year girl with a brain tumor who had failed traditional treatments. No funding was offered to the families that brought their children to the Envita clinic in the summer of 2008.
On October 14, 2005, Envita hosted their first major fundraising event, One Night Stand Against Cancer.
Envita’s second annual fundraiser, "Celebrate Life" was held October 20, 2006 and included a charity golf tournament, health talk, silent auction, and live entertainment.
This year’s fundraiser, Believe, a Concert for Life will be held on October 25. Tickets are $85-$135.
Envita’s form 990 for 2006 covers the period July 1, 2006 to June 30, 2007.
The Schedule of Special Events and Activities attached to the form shows that the Foundation spent nearly $70,000 to put on the Celebrate Life event which netted them less than $1,500.
The exact figures:
| Gross receipts: | $69.69 | |
| Expenses | $68,324 | |
| Amount earned: | $1,463 (2% of receipts) |
Envita charges the DIPG kids they treat $1,800 for each Poly MVA infusion. Four infusions a week totals $7,200 per week.
Envita’s recommended protocol for the Poly MVA kids is now 60 infusions total, 4 infusions per week, total treatment taking 15 weeks. At $1,800 a pop, that’s $108,000.
Not including bloodwork and other Envita-recommended supplements, some of which cost well over $1,000 per month.
Despite the almost $70,000 spent to put on the benefit, The Fullness Foundation didn’t raise enough money to pay for one single Poly MVA treatment for one child.
The entire revenue of the Foundation for fiscal year 2006 was $41,433, not quite enough to cover the cost of 23 Poly MVA infusions at the prices they charged those kids.
Other clinics in Arizona, some run by other Envita doctors offer intravenous Poly MVA at half the cost that Envita charges their patients.
An 8-oz. bottle of Poly MVA purchased at full retail price can be ordered for $230. One bottle is used for multiple treatments. Volume buyers get an additional discount.
Most of the desperate families who brought their children to Envita are not wealthy. The amount of their children’s treatment exceeds what most of them make in a year, excluding loss of income, travel, and lodging costs. These families and their friends were able to put together fundraisers that raised well over 10 times what the Fullness of Life Foundation has raised in three years.
The Fullness Foundation knows how to put on a fancy party for rich people at partial taxpayer expense, but the most recent financials don’t show that they know how to raise money.
Caveat emptor.
Maybe they should hire the families and friends of those kids, they know how to raise money.
3 comments
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October 19, 2008 at 8:44 pm
Anonymous
But “Doctor” Dino Prato sure had plenty of patients’ money to buy a 1.3 million dollar home in Carefree, AZ in December 2007.
October 23, 2008 at 4:38 pm
Anonymous
The foundation does help and the people involved do care. They work hard daily and weekly to raise money and want to help children. They are whole- heartedly interested in the children. I don’t think it matters what house Mr. Prato purchased or lives in. The fact that a person has the audacity to post what home he purchased is just a sign of a ‘bad’ person. Mr. Prato and his staff genuinely care for Envita’s patients and it is unfortunate that the post has anything to do with the foundation. The clinic has donated funds of treatments in the past. The staff is unselfish. Again, it is a business and a business cannot offer funds that they do have to everyone, if they had the funds it would be offered.
This angers a previous patient as myself who has seen the loving labor of the staff. I am sorry you did not feel cared for.
October 30, 2008 at 3:26 pm
I believe
When people point fingers at others , are critical of others, judge others, or smear the good intentions of others, they forget that they have three fingers pointing back at themselves. What wrongs one finds in others is what is terribly wrong in themselves. Therefore, whoever is reading these writings, should view it with the realization that there must be some maliciousness on the part of that person, that discourages and snatches hope away from families that are just looking for somewhere to bring their loved ones for a chance at life. Envita, its staff, and its approach to treatment is as sincere, caring, innovative and wanting of finding a cure, as any approach out there by the millions of people, doctors, nurses, priest, and all who are compassionate, loving,and desirous of helping . So, mom always said that if it was not going to help anyone, not true, or hurtful, they I shouldn’t say it, because God is watching and hearing.