A Road Map for the Future
“If you want to succeed you should strike out on new paths rather than take the worn path of accepted success.” -John D. Rockefeller.
When the Foundation was founded in 1966 by Dr. Freedland, the endodontic community was homogenous; the vision was lofty; and the pot of money was small. In the mid 1990’s, innovative thinkers such as Dr. Torabinejad reimagined the Foundation mission so that our great specialty could perpetuate excellence in endodontics and be deeply rooted in science. Presently, we have a diverse Board of twenty; our aspirations continue to be far reaching; and have a $31 million investment to support the Foundation’s mission and goals. In order to remain relevant, the Board of Trustees recently reassessed our mission and strategic plan for our Foundation. A strategic plan is the process of setting goals which creates a road map for our Foundation to move towards the future.
We asked what could we do as a Foundation to better support the specialty of endodontics. The strategic plan forces us to look at where we are currently; where we want to be in the future; the tools to achieve our goals and ultimately did we actually achieve what we set out to do. As a group, we reflected how the Foundation supports endodontic research, education and more recently access to care, but we felt a piece of the puzzle was missing. We believed the Foundation’s mission needed to expand. The Foundation’s mission is committed to improving oral health by increasing engagement and resources for endodontic research, education and access to care. We developed four goals for the Foundation to strive to accomplish. Staying close to our roots, the Foundation continues to advance impactful endodontic research that improves oral health and enhance the quality of endodontic education at all levels. In 2016, we added to our mission supporting access to endodontic care led by endodontic specialists to improve oral health in underserved communities. We are pleased that the Foundation has expanded this goal to include supporting domestic outreach projects as of 2021! Our new goal is engagement. We hope to better engage endodontists, other healthcare providers, the public at large, the corporate community and other foundations that may support our mission. The Foundation will define our identity, foster community and reinforce our brand to increase engagement in the Foundation’s mission. We hope to promote a culture of giving. I contend everyone has either time, talents or money to share with our specialty and their community. The Foundation aims to increase engagement in our initiatives hence increasing our impact on the endodontic community and overall oral health of all communities. We hope you join your Foundation in the quest to improve oral health by saving the natural dentition. Make a difference!