News Detail

Donate and Impact Our Industry

12/1/2020

December is the final month of the ACI Foundation's annual appeal campaign! By contributing to the ACI Foundation's annual campaign, you can help the brightest students in the concrete industry reach their career goals with scholarships and fellowships, provide funding for a research project that will benefit our world, or support strategic innovation that will make a lasting difference in advancing the industry.

I am excited to announce that, due to the generosity of the ACI Greater Miami Valley Chapter (GMVC), the first $20,000 in donations will be matched dollar for dollar by GMVC. GMVC has been a generous sponsor, and we are incredibly appreciative. Over the last 2 years, GMVC has donated over $40,000 to the ACI Foundation. ACI chapters are a crucial part of ACI, and it is encouraging to see the ACI chapter community provide such strong support for the mission of the ACI Foundation.

At the Opening Session of the fall ACI Concrete Convention, I announced my $1 million challenge to all ACI members. I strongly believe we can and should raise $1 million as part of the ACI Foundation's annual appeal before my term as ACI President ends in March 2021.

$1 Million Fundraising Challenge

As I stated in my opening remarks, "If every single ACI member does their part, we could easily reach $1 million to help students, propel research, and lead innovation—making a contribution is part of making an impact. Do it to support the scholarship recipients, to support research so that concrete remains on the cutting edge of technology, and to support initiatives like the Strategic Development Council to help the industry adopt new technologies on a more rapid basis."

In 2020, the ACI Foundation funded eight essential research projects, distributed fellowship and scholarship awards to 20 of the best students in the industry to help pay for their schooling, and gave these students access to ACI members and mentors through attending ACI Concrete Conventions. But…there is much more we should be doing.

The number of funding requests from students and researchers continues to increase. We have been able to award scholarships and fellowships to only about one-third of the deserving students who have applied and fund less than one-fifth of the research proposals that have been submitted. Stated another way, 40 worthy scholarship candidates and 39 potential research proposals went unfunded in 2020. With your contributions, we will be able to provide grants to more deserving students and research projects and begin additional strategic industry initiatives.

All administrative costs of running the Foundation are covered by ACI, so 100% of your donation will go directly to students excelling in an industry-related degree program or to the research projects that will transform the future of the industry.

I hope you will join me, the ACI Board of Direction, ACI Foundation Trustees and Foundation staff, and ACI senior management in donating this year because it truly makes a difference in so many lives and industry advancements.

I ask that each of you considers giving according to your means. As guidance, individual annual contributions over the past 2 years have ranged from $10 to $10,000. If we are to reach our $1 million goal, many of us will have to increase our annual participation.

Also, keep in mind the opportunities for planned giving through estates, trusts, wills, and life insurance, and the potential to name a fully funded scholarship or fellowship. If you are retired and receive a mandatory 401K distribution, consider avoiding taxes on the distribution by contributing some or all of it to the ACI Foundation. If you have any questions on planned giving, connect with Jennifer DeWall at jennifer.dewall@acifoundation.org.

To donate, make your gift via check and mail it to ACI headquarters, attention of the ACI Foundation; visit us online at www.acifoundation.org; or donate after you renew your ACI membership. We look forward to your help in embracing the younger generation of designers, builders, and engineers. We look forward to your involvement in expanding knowledge over broad areas of concrete construction, propelling research in new and innovative areas of concrete, and informing some of the world's most important building codes and standards.

I want to thank all of you who have already accepted the challenge and became a partner of the Foundation this fall.

Jeffrey W. Coleman

ACI President