Sights Set on Campaign Success

Posted in AAE Foundation, Development | January 22, 2016

The AAE Foundation's 2015-2016 fundraising campaign is gaining momentum as we head toward AAE16. Though it's one of the Foundation's most ambitious campaigns to date, hardworking volunteers and new giving opportunities are putting the goal within reach.

A few things set this year's effort apart from past campaigns:

The goal, $1.35 million—this is the Foundation's highest fundraising goal to date!
The timeline - this is a shorter fundraising campaign than in year's past, by about five weeks. The Foundation hopes to meet its goal each year at the AAE's annual meeting.
The leadership - this year, the Foundation welcomes a number of young practitioners to the Board of Trustees.
The opportunities - recently, the Foundation created the Jacob B. Freedland Society as a way to recognize donors who make deferred gifts of $1,000 or more!

All of these facts are driving volunteers to work diligently toward the fundraising goal. When determining a goal for the campaign, members of the Special Committee on Fundraising recognized the importance of setting the bar high to strive for and achieve greatness. Last year's campaign was a major success as the Foundation raised $1.251 million, coming up just over its $1.25 million goal. Large goals mean large efforts, but the Foundation's volunteers are not afraid of a little hard work!

The campaign is currently underway and the Foundation staff will provide volunteers with progress emails throughout the campaign to keep them on track for an early wrap-up at AAE16. The AAE's annual meeting is sure to be a great opportunity for volunteers to make their final pushes to bring the Foundation closer to the $1.35 million.

A combination of Foundation Trustees, Friends of the Foundation (self-nominated volunteer fundraisers), Student Ambassadors (self-nominated volunteer fundraisers who visit endodontic institutions) and AAE Directors work closely together to achieve benchmarks and smaller targets to reach the overall campaign goal. The group of volunteers is always diverse; though, it has become even more so due to Foundation President Dr. Louis E. Rossman's strong push to involve young endodontists in the Foundation's efforts. For the second time, the Foundation set up a new practitioner volunteer recruitment campaign to encourage young endodontists to participate. Several individuals responded to targeted messaging and agreed to serve as a Friend of the Foundation. The opinions and perspectives these fresh faces bring to the Foundation will undoubtedly benefit the organization for years to come. Dr. Rossman feels it is equally as important to involve young endodontists so they can see the Foundation's positive impact on endodontic research and education.

"By educating and involving young endodontists in our organization, we are making real, personal connections," said Dr. Rossman. "When new practitioners know what the Foundation does, they understand the need to support it."

Another noticeable difference to the 2015-2016 campaign is the addition of the Jacob B. Freedland Society. The society, named after the AAE Foundation's first-ever chairman, recognizes donors who make deferred gifts of $1,000 or more. There are a variety of vehicles for deferred giving, including but not limited to, bequests, trusts and annuities.

The AAE Foundation Board of Trustees chose to name the society after Dr. Freedland because they felt that he was an essential part of the organization's history. In addition to his leadership in the Foundation, Dr. Freedland was one of the nation's first endodontists and the 22nd president of the AAE, and he was involved in organized dentistry at the local, state and international levels throughout his long lifetime. He was convinced that strong research, educational initiatives and talented educators were key to a bright future for endodontics. The ability to honor donors making deferred gifts with a prominent, historic name like Dr. Freedland's is a true testament to his legacy in endodontics.

For more information about the Jacob B. Freedland Society and its founding members, visit the Foundation's website at www.aae.org/foundation.

Dr. Jacob B. Freedland (front row, second from right), pictured with Dr. Louis E. Rossman (front row, far right), Dr. I.B. Bender (front row, third from right) and other close colleagues, at Dr. Bender's 90th birthday party in 1995.