GIVING TO THE AMA FOUNDATION
AMA Foundation
By Rusty Kennedy, AMA Foundation Chairman | rustyk716@gmail.com
Why do I give to my Academy of Model Aeronautics? Yes, I wrote my AMA. I give of my time and money because I feel it is important to give back to an organization that has, since 1936, been there for model aviation enthusiasts. I am an AMA Foundation Torchbearer and give $100 monthly.
You can be a Torchbearer too. Would you be willing to commit to $9.99 a month or more for one year? This link will get you started: https://amablog.modelaircraft.org/amafoundation/pass-the-torch/.
Some will ask why I ask for financial donations. Well, raising funds is the AMA Foundation’s job. The foundation uses those funds to help fund AMA programs. It is what an organization’s foundation does. I am the chairman of the AMA Foundation and do not want to ask a member to give unless I do too.
The AMA Foundation supports many AMA programs, one of which is the Flying Site Improvement Grant (https://modelaircraft.secure-platform.com/a/page/grants/flyingsiteimprovementgrant). An AMA chartered club can receive a grant of up to $3,000. Please carefully read the instructions and remember that a club can send in the grant application for review before submitting. The review might help by giving some pointers on how to improve your application.
Did your club have damage caused by a natural disaster? Help to finance repairs is available with the Disaster Relive Grant (https://modelaircraft.secure-platform.com/a/page/grants/disasterreliefgrant). Again, make sure to read and carefully follow the grant application instructions.
National Model Aviation Day is an excellent way for AMA clubs to help in fundraising. National Model Aviation Day is held each year on the Saturday before National Aviation Day. This year’s date is August 13. It is a good day to promote your club and AMA. Have a fun-fly with a cookout and invite the public to learn about model aviation. It is also a good idea to invite local officials and news media.
Your club could earn a little money by using the AMA Club Recognition and Reward Program (https://amablog.modelaircraft.org/amafoundation/ama-chartered-club-recognition-and-reward-program).
It would be wonderful if 200 or more clubs registered for the 2022 event. It costs nothing to register, and an AMA sanction is not required. Registration helps in locating clubs because when clubs register their location, it is placed on a map that is on the AMA website.
The club can hold any kind of a flying event and, for clubs that cannot hold it in August, they can hold it at an earlier or later date.
I would like to see National Model Aviation Day become a yearly club event to raise funds for the AMA Foundation. You have already read about some of the programs that are available to clubs. Think of it this way: It is clubs helping other clubs.
I think 2022 is going to be a fun year. Clubs are holding events and getting back to regular flying. Please sanction your club’s events. Sanctioning makes it much easier for members to find who is holding an event and when and where it is being held. All clubs want people to participate.
Sanctioning also helps prevent overlapping of events. I am also a District IV associate vice president, and it makes it easier when I can go to the AMA Event Calendar and plan my club visits.
This column was written in mid-November 2021 for the February 2022 edition of Model Aviation. I wish everyone a belated happy holiday season and a happy and prosperous new year.
If you have questions about the AMA Foundation or District IV, I am available 23-1/2 hours a day. You can contact me at rustyk716@gmail.com or (757) 812-2812.
