Announcing the New NFPA Education and Technology Foundation
 NFPA is taking a momentous step in our ongoing efforts to build a bright future for fluid power. The association has just established the new NFPA Education and Technology Foundation to ensure that we are able to sustain programs already in place and pursue new initiatives that
- actively engage students at all grade levels in learning about fluid power;
- encourage the development of new teaching resources—fluid power laboratories as well as on-line, in-print and hands-on instruction tools;
- support research in motion control through fluid power at the two-year, four-year and graduate school levels.
- foster ongoing forums between educators and industry so that ideas and priorities of mutual interest can be shared and set.
The foundation for the Foundation
The framework for the new Foundation builds on the programs so successfully developed through NFPA’s Education Fund. This Fund, established in 2000 with NFPA reserves, has since been replenished with proceeds from IFPE. Monies from the Fund have supported many activities in the last seven years that include:
- 40 grants to high school, technical school and university faculty in order to enhance their fluid power instructional activities;
- matching grants to help in equipping fluid power laboratories at three universities;
- a stipend for the author of a new fluid power textbook;
- payments for development of two on-line instructional programs (one in hydraulics and the other in pneumatics) at NFPA’s website;
- a grant underwriting the costs associated with developing fluid power content in Project Lead The Way curricula offered to middle- and high-school students across the country;
- a gift in support of the Industrial Careers Pathway, a workforce development initiative for the industrial distribution channel;
- underwriting the costs of summits that introduced and continue to encourage teaching and research relationships among industry and academic leaders.
Why establish an NFPA foundation?
There are more good causes than funds: Members of NFPA’s Education Committee, Board of Directors and staff are learning more and more about how the association can be involved in assuring that tomorrow’s work force is learning about fluid power today. We are discovering that teachers and researchers across the country are eager to begin and/or further develop the work they are doing that is directly relevant to hydraulics and pneumatics. Much more is happening that we ever imagined! One measure is the growth in our schools/university members. That membership has grown from one in 2000 to 34 in 2007. Another is the number of requests we receive for help—there are many more than we can fund. NFPA would like to be in a position to regularly answer to every request recommended by our Education Committee at each member school, but right now we can’t, we simply don’t have enough money. On average, we can only disburse approximately $200,000 per year from the Education Fund. Our goal is to more than double that amount.
Ours is a long-term plan: Since 2000, IFPE has been NFPA’s only source for adding money to our Education Fund. Though we envision a long and prosperous future for the show, we know that it is wise to diversify our base of support and prepare for the cyclical nature of our economy. We also know that even in downturns, we still need to maintain workforce development and research projects. Our Foundation will provide us with stability and security.
How Is the NFPA Education and Research Foundation Organized?
The NFPA Education and Technology Foundation is applying for designation as a 501(c)(3) charitable
organization. For administrative purposes, NFPA is the sole member of the new Foundation, but the Foundation will enjoy a corporate identity separate from NFPA and will have its own Board of Directors. The Board will have seven members, with seats held by the following: NFPA’s Chairman of the Board as well as the Board’s First and Second Vice Chairman and Treasurer, the Chairman of NFPA’s Education Committee, the Immediate Past Chairman of the Education Committee and a delegate at large. The Foundation’s first Board members are: Marwan Kashkoush (Parker Hannifin Corp.), Hans Zobel (Festo Corporation), Dave Anderson (Sauer-Danfoss, Inc.), Al Carlson (Sun Hydraulics Corp.), Bill Parks (Deltrol Fluid Products), Greg Willard (Quality Control Corp.) and Justin Jacobi (SunSource). Eric Lanke will serve as the Foundation’s Executive Director and NFPA staff will provide administrative services.
The Foundation Board will receive recommendations for gifts and grants from NFPA’s Education Committee. This Committee will continue its important roles in overseeing current education-related programs and recommending overall direction, new initiatives, and disbursements.
Foundation Funding and Supporters: NFPA is launching the Foundation with $50,000 in seed money, drawn from the association’s reserves. In addition to designating funds drawn from IFPE profits, contributions to the Foundation will be solicited from stakeholders in the fluid power industry, both corporate and individual. Donors can choose to have their contributions applied wherever they are most needed (based on recommendations from the Education Committee and decisions made by the Foundation’s Board), or they can designate where there contributions will go, either programmatically (research or teaching) or by school (from among NFPA’s member schools and universities). Contribution levels are as follows:
|
Contribution
Levels |
MAKE A DONATION (pdf
form)
|
|
Friend
|
up to
$100
|
|
Partner
|
$101 - $1000
|
|
Advocate
|
$1001 - $5000
|
|
Patron
|
$5001 - $15000
|
|
Benefactor
|
$15,000 - $25,000
|
|
Legacy Builder
|
over $25,000
|
For more information about the Foundation and the programs it will
support, contact Eric Lanke at 414-778-3351 or elanke@nfpa.com.
NFPA—Developing
Tomorrow's Workforce Today!
|
