The air ambulance charity, which recently brought its Flight Simulator Roadshow to Dromore High School, has been in the spotlight for the hundreds of thousands of pounds it has spent before even getting off the ground, which it says it expects to do in November this year.
It is reported that the IAA has raised £700,000 in public donations but has spent £500,000 on wages and set-up costs; it says it will require some £1.6m a year, money donated entirely by the general public and members of the business community.
But SAM's Tracey McCausland, whose son Sam suffers from Congenital Muscular Dystrophy and gave his name to the, crucially, zero-cost charity, was alarmed by an IAA statement saying that 'like all charities', Ireland Air Ambulance expected its first-year operating costs to be high.
Tracey said Hillsborough-based SAM was concerned people might assume all charities operated with high running costs and so choose not to donate.
"Struggle Against Muscular Dystrophy exists as a 'Zero Cost' charity," she said, "which I believe makes us quite unique.
"We have zero running costs, zero admin costs, zero salary costs and zero operating costs. Everyone involved in the charity gives their time, expertise, products and services for free."
perception
Another founder member, Simon Kitchen, reinforced the charity's disappointment at "the potentially detrimental effect" the IAA publicity might have on the public's perception of what happens to the money they contribute to charitable causes.
"In these challenging financial times it is especially difficult for many people to find the extra money to contribute to charity," he said. "People need to be assured that there are charities like SAM in Northern Ireland, which are run entirely by volunteers who neither expect nor receive any financial compensation for their work and who are involved in charitable efforts for purely altruistic reasons."
He added, "We don't pay for anything; we all call in favours, we beg people to do things for us for the greater good and we capitalise on the diverse skill set of our committee members.
"We are so grateful for every pound that the people of Northern Ireland have contributed to help make this possible. The money is being used for what it was intended so that we can keep our promise to help bring hope to the many thousands of families in the grip of this disease."
Since its launch just over a year ago SAM has raised more than £120,000 in pursuit of its goal to help find effective treatments for the current generation of children sufferering from the terminal muscle-wasting disease.
international
"This is allowing us to fund the costs of setting up an international patient registry for congenital muscular dystrophy," said Tracey, "and in August the first SAM Translational Research Grant, to the tune of $100,000, will go to international tender.
"These are amazing achievements that are due to our determination to guarantee that every penny we raise goes to research."