As part of the School Nutrition Foundation’s commitment to education, research, and scholarship, we are thrilled to announce our newest engagement initiative for SNA members: the 2016 Ambassadors Program.
The mission of the Foundation is to advance the profession of school nutrition by providing resources to School Nutrition Association members. We do this through fundraising for our Annual Fund, which allows the Foundation to support applied research in child nutrition to help create best practices, and to offer scholarships that allow our members to attend conferences as well as achieve their own educational goals.
2016 Ambassadors Program
As part of our effort to meet our $30,000 fundraising goal, SNF has created the 2016 Ambassadors Program, an effort that will help us raise the Foundation’s profile and raise the funds needed to give SNA members access to education scholarships and professional resources. We are recruiting a 2016 Ambassador for each of the forty-eight states that have affiliate associations to spearhead fundraising and promotion of the Annual Fund, and so far we have representatives for all but seven states. If you’re an SNA member in Arkansas, Connecticut, Hawaii, New Hampshire, Nebraska, Wisconsin, and Wyoming, we want you to become your state’s 2016 Ambassador.
In addition to Annual Fund fundraising, ambassadors will be encouraging other SNA members in their state to apply for available scholarships, use resources provided for Breakfast in the Classroom and other Foundation programs, join in research efforts to develop best practices, and nominate individuals for the annual School Nutrition Hero awards.
When asked why SNA members might consider volunteering to be their 2016 State Ambassador, SNF Chair Sandra Ford said that it’s about more than simply “fundraising”—it’s about building our school nutrition community.
“By raising awareness of the Foundation to all members, [the Ambassadors program] creates a natural giving concept. This is not only about fundraising, but the availability of scholarships, tools members can use on their job, and so much more. We want all members to understand the goals of the Foundation, and the many ways the Foundation helps school nutrition professionals around the country.”
Annual Fund Incentive
In addition to our Ambassadors Program, SNF recently announced the 2016 Annual Fund Incentive, a program that will encourage each state association to participate in Annual Fund fundraising with the following incentives:
- States with 1000+ members: Achieve a percentage participation of 3 percent or higher and achieve a total of $3500 or more, and SNF will provide 20 percent of the total raised (minimum $700) for the State Association to use for scholarships. If your state achieves percentage participation of 5 percent or higher, and a total of $5000 or more, SNF will provide 25 percent of the total raised (minimum $1250) for the State Association to use for scholarships.
- States with 501-1000 members: Achieve a percentage participation of 3 percent or higher and a total of $1500 or more, and SNF will provide 20 percent of the total raised (minimum $300) for the State Association to use for scholarships. If your state achieves percentage participation of 5 percent or higher, and a total of $2500 or more, SNF will provide 25 percent of the total raised (minimum $625) for the State Association to use for scholarships.
- States with 1-500 members: Achieve participation of 3 percent or higher and achieve a total of $750 or more, and SNF will provide 20 percent of the total raised (minimum $150) for the State Association to use for scholarships. If your state achieves percentage participation of 5 percent or higher and achieves a total of $1000 or more, SNF will provide 25 percent of the total raised (minimum $250) for the State Association to use for scholarships.
For a contribution to count toward your State Fund Incentive, it must meet the following requirements:
- Contributions must be in the amount of $10 or more; contributions less than $10 will go directly to the Annual Fund, but will not count toward your Incentive fundraising total;
- Contributions must be made by an individual; contributions made by groups will not count toward the Incentive fundraising total;
- Contributions made by the state affiliate will be included in the minimum total, but not count toward percentage participation;
- Contributions must be made between January 1 and December 31 of the 2016 calendar year.
- Contributions may not be restricted for a Special Fund.
The State Affiliates will be working toward the Incentive for Scholarships and will be competiting with one another to have the highest percentage participation in 2016. Competition is a fun new way to engage with SNA members within your own state, as well as your competitors in other states! By fostering a sense of friendly competition, we build a stronger school nutrition community overall.
“States like that sense of competition and companionship with their fellow states,” said Ford. “It is all meant to increase awareness of the Foundation and their programs, as well as providing a way for individual members to be a part.”
Are you an SNA member living in Arkansas, Connecticut, Hawaii, New Hampshire, Nebraska, Wisconsin, and Wyoming, and interested in becoming your state’s 2016 SNF Ambassador? Contact SNF Director of Development Janet Hedrick at jhedrick@schoolnutrition.org. To learn more about the Annual Fund, visit our website; to learn more about our scholarship recipients, visit our blog: BeyondBreakfast.org.
