Philanthropy in Plastic Surgery: Best Practices and Measuring Impact.

Background: Philanthropy in plastic surgery supports research, clinical care, academic infrastructure, and education in the United States and internationally. Plastic surgeons have opportunities to innovatively address unmet needs in their local and global communities by forming philanthropic nonprofit organizations.

Methods: The authors queried three national philanthropic databases (Charity Navigator, Guidestar, and ProPublica) for Internal Revenue Service 990 form tax return information related to philanthropic plastic surgery organizations.