April 7, 2026
Do No Harm Complaints to IRS Requesting Investigation into AMA Foundation’s Tax-Exempt Status
On April 7, 2026, and October 28, 2026, Do No Harm filed complaints with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), urging it to investigate whether the American Medical Association (AMA) Foundation should have its tax-exempt status revoked for operating racially discriminatory scholarships.
The AMA Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the American Medical Association, funds and oversees the Physicians of Tomorrow Scholarship program, which provides various lucrative scholarships to third-year medical students. Most scholarship awards include prizes of up to $10,000, along with national recognition and access to resources and support. Unfortunately, some of these scholarships impose racially discriminatory eligibility criteria in violation of 501(c)(3) requirements, which prohibit tax-exempt organizations from engaging in activities contrary to established public policy, including racial discrimination.
On April 7, 2026, Do No Harm filed its initial complaint with the IRS, highlighting various AMA Foundation scholarships that favored certain racial groups over others. The scholarships in question included the Dr. Richard Allen Williams & Genita Evangelista Johnson/Association of Black Cardiologists Scholarship, which required applicants to be “African American/Black”; the Patricia L. Austin Family Physicians of Tomorrow Scholarship, which restricted eligibility to applicants “of Eastern European descent”; and the Underrepresented in Medicine Scholarship, which limited eligibility to black, Hispanic/Latino, and “Indigenous” applicants.
Within 10 days of Do No Harm’s April complaint, the Foundation removed the discriminatory scholarships in question from its “Physicians of Tomorrow” program website. However, months later, the AMA Foundation re-published some of these scholarships with revisions that did not fix the underlying racial-discrimination issues.
On October 28, 2026, Do No Harm filed an addendum to its earlier complaint, presenting evidence that multiple scholarships continue to discriminate against medical students and documenting the AMA Foundation’s insufficient attempts to address the issues raised in Do No Harm’s original complaint.
Specifically, the Patricia L. Austin Family Physicians of Tomorrow Scholarship — previously requiring applicants from certain European racial groups — swapped this racial eligibility criterion for a new “preference” for “students who are enrolled members of, or otherwise affiliated with, a federally recognized American Indian or Alaska Native (AI/AN) tribe or group.”
Similarly, although the Underrepresented in Medicine Scholarship was revised to qualify candidates “who come from economically disadvantaged and vulnerable communities and/or demonstrate a dedication to serving vulnerable or underserved populations,” there is evidence that the Foundation is using these facially race-neutral categories as a proxy for prohibited race-based preferences. For example, among other indications, the AMA promotes and plays some role in candidate selection for the Foundation’s Underrepresented in Medicine award and describes it as being “for African American, Latino/Hispanic, or Native Americans/Native Hawaiians/Alaska Natives scholars.”
Under Supreme Court precedent, having even one unlawful policy under 26 U.S.C § 501(c)(3), including a racially discriminatory policy, renders the entire organization ineligible for tax-exempt status.