About change, famed actor-comedian Milton Berle once said, “If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.” This month, we’re telling you a story about both change and opportunity at the AAPG Foundation.
A Bold Vision for the Future
The AAPG Foundation is preparing to launch a significant capital campaign designed to expand our impact on students, researchers and the future of energy geosciences.
From graduate research grants to field camp scholarships to initiatives like AEGIS (Advanced Energy Geoscience Innovation and Support), our programs continue to grow in reach and importance.
To meet this moment and ensure longterm sustainability, we are investing not only in programs, but also in the infrastructure that supports them.
This campaign is about strengthening geoscience for generations to come. To do that responsibly, we must also strengthen the Foundation itself.
Strengthening Our Foundation for Growth
As we look ahead to our next chapter, it is helpful to note that the AAPG (the Association) and the AAPG Foundation are separate and autonomous organizations, each with distinct missions and governance structures:
- The Association is a 501(c)(6) professional association focused on the members.
- The Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public charity that supports the energy geosciences (that means donations to the Foundation are tax-deductible; donations are not tax-deductible for the Association).
For more than 30 years, we benefited from a Shared Services Agreement that allowed both organizations to operate efficiently and collaboratively. We are grateful for that long-standing partnership and the strong working relationship it fostered.
Recently, as the Association brought in external partners to perform its IT and accounting functions, the Foundation’s Trustees carefully evaluated how best to position our organization for the future, particularly in light of our expanding programs and the upcoming capital campaign.
After a strategic and technical review, the Trustees determined that establishing dedicated operational support focused solely on the Foundation’s charitable mission would best serve our donors, students, and research community. This change allows the Foundation to better reach its vision “to support a strong and vibrant community of petroleum geology, energy mineral, and environmental geology.”
Building the Infrastructure for Impact
To support our plans and growth, we at the Foundation have:
- Assembled a professional team focused exclusively on the Foundation’s mission
- Upgraded our management and accounting systems
- Improved communication regarding the Foundation programs and support
- Restructured and added new committees to manage proposals and programs, and to engage Trustee Associates
- Started refreshing our website and digital communications
- Launched an improved online giving page
These updates are practical improvements designed to ensure that every dollar entrusted to us is managed effectively and strategically.
We invite you to visit our updated giving page at: donate.aapgfoundation.org.
Change versus Cost
Of course, there are specific new costs involved for doing something bold and independent – but it is not as though this is all added cost. Remember, the Foundation historically paid for Association staff services under the Shared Services Agreement, as well as for its part of the tools used for the two organizations. In fact, in some cases, we anticipate our costs will decrease – such as with several of our IT tools – where the Foundation is eligible for significant discounts as a 501(c) (3).
Most importantly, we are excited that our new, dedicated accounting and IT teams can now focus exclusively and unconstrained on the Foundation’s needs.
The good news is the Foundation is blessed with a significant operating fund, so each donated dollar goes directly to a program and none to overhead. That’s 100 percent! This is an excellent Foundation benefit to our donors.
Opportunity Ahead
Come back in a month or two and check the start of our new and improved website. We will have plenty of updates about the capital campaign, our innovative programs, and a detailed listing of our dedicated team. I suspect you will recognize many familiar, smiling faces who are already hard at work and serve with enthusiasm.
This is an exciting time for the AAPG Foundation. With a clear vision, strengthened infrastructure, and a dedicated leadership team, we are positioning ourselves for even greater impact.
The door is open. We encourage you to walk through it with us.