The Foundation’s Homegrown Goals

Posted in AAE Foundation | March 6, 2018

As the Foundation for Endodontics enters the most important weeks of the 2017 – 2018 fundraising campaign, here are four important points we want you to know:

The goal, $1.5 million – this is the Foundation’s highest fundraising goal to date!
- Past goals:
  - 2016 – 2017: $1.45 million (achieved at AAE17 in New Orleans)
  - 2015 – 2016: $1.35 million (achieved at AAE16 in San Francisco)
  - 2014 – 2015: $1.25 million (achieved AAE15 in Seattle)
The timeline – The Foundation hopes to meet its goal each year at the AAE’s annual meeting (April 25 – 28, 2018).
The Foundation relies on a variety of giving vehicles to receive support, including new pledges, increased pledges, outright contributions, corporate pledges and support as well as planned gifts. Pledges and outright gifts can now be made online!
Planned gifts come in many varieties, the simplest being a charitable bequest. Donors who bequeath the Foundation $25,000 or more become part of the Jacob B. Freedland Society.

The Special Committee on Fundraising recognized the importance of setting the bar high to strive for and achieve greatness. The 2016 – 2017 campaign was a major success, raising a total of $1.48 million. The Foundation has big plans for the future, and to fund its strategic initiatives it needs to set and reach aggressive goals.

For many years now, Foundation fundraising campaigns have run from one annual meeting of the Association to the next. With AAE18 around the corner, the 2017 – 2018 campaign is currently in full swing. With a combination of pointed staff and volunteer efforts, endodontic post-graduate visits, and a robust communication effort combining print and electronic messaging, the Foundation hopes to arrive in Denver with its goal in sight. Since the annual meeting serves as the largest gathering of endodontists in the world, it is the perfect location for the Foundation to tip the scale on its fundraising efforts and finalize the campaign year with a photo finish.

Did you know that a combination of Foundation Trustees, Friends of the Foundation (self-nominated volunteer fundraisers), Student Ambassadors (self-nominated volunteer fundraisers who visit endodontic post-grad programs) and AAE directors, work closely together achieving benchmarks and smaller targets to reach the overall campaign goal? This diverse group of volunteers is committed to the success of the Foundation, and it takes a concentrated effort from each of them to fund the Foundation’s existing and growing initiatives. Collectively, this volunteer group casts a wide net, and the Foundation works within it to create opportunities for collaboration with donors, creating gifts that fit each donor’s needs.

As mentioned, there are a variety of vehicles to support the Foundation:

Individual first-time pledge: An entry level contribution to the Foundation (can be made at various levels).
Individual increase pledge: If you have already made a first-time pledge, you can increase your giving to a higher level, with another pledge totaling the difference between the levels (the Foundation recognizes giving history, cumulatively over the donor’s lifetime).
Outright contribution: Not interested in making a pledge now? No problem! The Foundation can easily accept outright cash contributions of any size. This contribution will be included in your total cumulative giving history, as well.
Bequest: One or two sentences in your will or living trust that leaves the Foundation a specific item, an amount of money, a gift contingent upon certain events or a percentage of your estate.
Corporate pledge: A pledge made by industry partners. Like individual pledges, corporations have the ability to increase their giving levels over time.

With no one-size-fits-all contribution, the Foundation offers many diversified ways for all endodontists and industry partners to contribute to the Foundation’s mission. Please consider the $1.5 million goal the Foundation is working to achieve (by April 28) to support the future of your specialty, and affirm your commitment today!