Why I Give to the AAOF
By Robert W. Hazel, MA, CAE, CFRE
The American Association of Orthodontists Foundation is a simple organization as these things go, in that, except for governance issues and, from time to time, sponsoring a special event at the Annual Session, the AAOF has only two functions: fundraising and program.
Continued Commitment to the Specialty ®
On the one hand, the AAOF raises money to support orthodontic education and research, primarily from AAO members, either as individuals or through Constituent and Component organizations, study clubs, alumni groups, etc. Together, this accounts for about 85 percent of the $36 million pledged.
But there are also gifts from orthodontic industry as well as friends of the specialty, of which I am one. I decided early on that I would make, what is for me, a major commitment to the efforts here and consequently have pledged more than $15,000. Having included the AAOF in my estate plans also qualifies me as a member of the Keystone Society. I'm also a member of the Foundation's Century Club in that I make a monthly donation, via a credit card, of $100 a month and thus my support not only continues but it continues to grow.
More than one-third of all AAO members have made a Continued Commitment to the Specialty ® and have pledged $5,000 or more. There are more than 500 of you who have pledged at the Regent ($25,000) level or higher; more than 1,300 members of the Vanguard Society (pledges from orthodontists when they were residents, which become due ten years after graduation); and just under 250 members of the Keystone Society.
The AAOF has been such an enviable success, in large part because of the colleagues who have played major roles in the organization. Among those who come to mind is Eugene Blair, past AAO President (after whom the Foundation award for meritorious service is named), who, while on the Foundation Board, was among those who determined that the organization would undertake the initial fundraising effort that led to your successes of today. Following Dr. Blair as National Campaign Chair was John Pershing (MSO/NE), and then Fred Garret (SWSO/TX), who has been on the Foundation Board in one capacity or another since 1993. Among others who were responsible early on were Raymond George (NESO/RI), Jim Gjerset (MSO/ND), and Terry Pracht (GLAO/OH), all of whom were National Campaign Vice Chairs before becoming AAO Trustees, serving on the Foundation Board on their way to becoming AAO Presidents.
There are many others, as well, including Robert Bray (MASO/NJ), who serves currently as MASO Director and as National Planned Giving Chair, a position that Dr. Gjerset held previously; Public Directors from orthodontic companies, large and small; and previous and current AAO Executive Directors, Ron Moen and Chris Vranas, respectively.
Awards Program
If you were to sit in on the review committee and see to what lengths this group of academics goes to make certain that every proposal submitted receives a full, fair and complete hearing prior to funding recommendations, you would be at once amazed and gratified that you have such good stewards representing you, all of whom serve without honorarium.
The Awards Program traces its roots back to a presentation made well over 20 years ago by Ralph White (SAO/TN) and Rolf "Buzz" Behrents (MSO/MO). Resulting from that, Dr. Behrents wrote the original, programmatic protocols for the Awards Program and served as the founding Chair of the Planning and Awards Review Committee, which has resulted in the following outcomes to benefit your specialty:
More than $8.9 million in funding (includes 2012 Awards Program), primarily in support of Junior Faculty, including:
- 164 Fellowship Awards
- 158 Research Awards
- More than 1,000 gifts in support of orthodontic education
Support for Junior Faculty has resulted in:
- Publication of more than 100 articles, most of which have been published in journals within orthodontics, but many in journals outside the specialty and the profession.
- Numerous lectures at dental, orthodontic and other scientific meetings.
- Professional advancement. At the 70 graduate orthodontic residency programs in the US and Canada there are 28 department chairs and/or program directors funded while Junior Faculty; numerous tenured, associate and full professor positions; and 12 NIH funding recipients.
Following Dr. Behrents as PARC Chair were Gregory King (PCSO/WA), Brent Larson (MSO/MN), Stephanos Kyrkanides (NESO/NY) and Sunil Kapila (GLAO/MI).
In addition to the successful outcomes noted above, there is also the establishment of the AAO Foundation Craniofacial Growth Legacy Collection Project (www.aaoflegacycollection.org), an unprecedented collaboration within your specialty (and, really, any other within dentistry or medicine!) designed to preserve representative materials from participating orthodontic legacy collections and make them available at no charge for research and educational purposes. Sheldon Baumrind (PCSO/CA) is currently the Chair of the Curators Committee for this project, and others involved in its creation, in addition to members of PARC, both past and present, include Jeff Cavanaugh (MSO/MO), who served as PARC Board Liaison and continues to serve, along with Drs. Kapila and Kyrkanides as the Oversight Committee for the Collections project.
After having worked in association/nonprofit management for some forty years, I can assure you that there is no more effective or efficient process of determining programmatic funding that that which is used by the AAOF. In addition to the accomplishments noted above, that in and of itself is something you should all be quite proud of.
Twenty years ago, the focus of Foundation funding was on the furtherance of your specialty, as one of the hallmarks of a profession of a body of knowledge, and there is perhaps no better place to disseminate that than in institutions of higher learning. Then, more specifically, the focus moved to support of orthodontic education, in particular that of Junior Faculty. There is certainly plenty of evidence to support the notion that this has been accomplished as well. The proverbial next level is to now concentrate on research, and that is exactly what the Board has determined the organization will do. Details of this new initiative are expected to be announced at the Annual Session during our special event gourmet wine tasting in Philadelphia in May.
Conclusion
There are just too many great people to name them all, but look around you and if you see a colleague in some leadership position within the AAO community, likely he/she is either a current or former volunteer for the Foundation in some capacity, and/or is a donor.
It's a pleasure to be involved with the AAO Foundation and to have met and worked with so many fine professionals who care as passionately as they do about something as important to their community as the AAOF. While there is considerable diversity among AAOF supporters, the one thing these individuals seemingly have in common is a sense of obligation to give back, something social scientists call "serial reciprocity," which can be a powerful force for good. Being associated with such generous and grateful people is more gratifying that I can articulate and is perhaps not as frequently manifested in the broader society as it might be for the public good. Which is yet another meaningful outcome: The AAOF has helped to foster a climate of philanthropy within your specialty.
Finally, if you value the AAOF the way I do, please consider:
- If you haven't pledged, what are you waiting for?
- If you have already pledged, when the time is right for you and your family, please consider making yet another Continued Commitment to the Specialty ®. There are a number of ways to do so.
- Wherever you are in your professional career, including the AAOF in your estate plans is an easy way to support us long into the future.
Although not an orthodontist, I have decided to support the AAOF in all ways possible for me. Perhaps you, too, can help make this organization continue to advance the profession.
For information on the many ways you can give, please contact AAO Foundation at 800.424.2841 or aaof@aaortho.org today.