Stories of progress, inspiration, and information in overcoming osteosarcoma.

Members of the OSI's development committee participate in a "Go Gold" event to fight childhood cancer.

The OSI’s Development Committee: Mobilizing a Community Around a Mission

How a small, strategic team fosters the community support necessary to fund the Osteosarcoma Institute’s groundbreaking work in osteosarcoma research.

“Before he died of osteosarcoma in 2005 at the age of 19, Willie Tichenor told his parents that he never wanted anyone else to go through what he went through, which was exhausting every available treatment option without any success,” says Bret Alexander, who was a close friend of Willie.

To honor Willie’s request, parents Lisa and Mac Tichenor gathered Willie’s friends — including Bret — to form the What Would Willie Want (QuadW) Foundation in 2005. One of QuadW’s key priorities was to uncover new treatments for osteosarcoma.

Bret Alexander

With time, QuadW determined that a separate research institute was needed to more effectively advance osteosarcoma science. QuadW formed the Osteosarcoma Institute (OSI) in 2017, bringing on osteosarcoma researchers and scientists to join the Strategic Advisory Board. Mac Tichenor became president of the OSI; Lisa Tichenor joined the Board of Trustees; and Bret became a founding member of the Strategic Advisory Board. QuadW made an initial grant commitment to the OSI for 2019-2024 to establish operations and launch the first round of research grants in 2019.

“Initially, the OSI’s focus was squarely on identifying and funding research proposals through a rigorous peer-reviewed process,” Bret explains. “But we knew early on that we could not just fundraise part-time. In order to be capable of defining the agenda of osteosarcoma research and progressing the field forward, we needed to learn how to raise money.”

[et_pb_acf_single_item field_name=”Posts|image_gallery” image_size=”et-pb-image–responsive–phone” admin_label=”First Gallery” module_class=”first-gallery” _builder_version=”4.17.4″ _module_preset=”default” display_conditions=”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” global_colors_info=”{}”][/et_pb_acf_single_item][et_pb_acf_single_item field_name=”Posts|gallery_texts” image_size=”et-pb-image–responsive–phone” admin_label=”First Gallery” module_class=”first-gallery” _builder_version=”4.17.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Open Sans|600|on||||||” text_text_color=”#000000″ text_font_size=”13px” display_conditions=”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” global_colors_info=”{}”][/et_pb_acf_single_item][et_pb_acf_single_item field_name=”Posts|2nd_content” _builder_version=”4.18.0″ _module_preset=”default” text_text_color=”#000000″ text_line_height=”25px” headings_font=”Brandon Grotesque Bold||||||||” headings_font_size=”26px” display_conditions=”W3siaWQiOiI5YjA0YTkzOC1iMTlkLTQzMGQtODExYi0yMzU1NDY5ZmY4NmIiLCJjb25kaXRpb24iOiJjdXN0b21GaWVsZCIsImNvbmRpdGlvblNldHRpbmdzIjp7InNlbGVjdENvbmRpdGlvbmFsTWV0YUZpZWxkIjoiZXlKa2FYTndiR0Y1VW5Wc1pTSTZJbWx6UVc1NVZtRnNkV1VpTENKelpXeGxZM1JsWkVacFpXeGtUbUZ0WlNJNkltMWhiblZoYkVOMWMzUnZiVVpwWld4a1RtRnRaU0lzSW1OMWMzUnZiVVpwWld4a1RtRnRaU0k2SWpKdVpGOWpiMjUwWlc1MElpd2ljMlZzWldOMFpXUkdhV1ZzWkZaaGJIVmxJam9pYldGdWRXRnNRM1Z6ZEc5dFJtbGxiR1JXWVd4MVpTSXNJbU4xYzNSdmJVWnBaV3hrVm1Gc2RXVWlPaUlpZlE9PSIsImFkbWluTGFiZWwiOiJDdXN0b20gRmllbGQiLCJlbmFibGVDb25kaXRpb24iOiJvbiJ9LCJvcGVyYXRvciI6Ik9SIn1d” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″][/et_pb_acf_single_item]

“Every year, the development committee sets more aggressive goals, and it has been incredible seeing the osteosarcoma community rally together to pursue better treatments for this disease.” — Bret Alexander

[et_pb_acf_single_item field_name=”Posts|4th_content” _builder_version=”4.18.0″ _module_preset=”default” text_text_color=”#000000″ headings_font=”Brandon Grotesque Bold||||||||” headings_font_size=”26px” display_conditions=”W10=” global_colors_info=”{}”][/et_pb_acf_single_item]