News & Comment
A New Era Begins for the ACBL Educational Foundation
By JOEL KRAMER and KRISTEN FREDERICK
The ACBL Educational Foundation has been around for a while, but it is now entering an exciting stage of renewal and growth. (While we have ACBL in our name, we are an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.)
Last year, under the direction of then-board president Barbara Heller, we expanded our board of trustees and embarked on a search for our first full-time executive director.
Now, with a new leadership team in place, we are committed to expanding our footprint, and helping the game of bridge grow and thrive in North America.
The Foundation has two main goals:
- To introduce the game of bridge to more people, connecting them to good teachers and opportunities to enjoy this great game.
- To encourage casual players to deepen their involvement in bridge and experience the benefits of playing more frequently.
We have identified four main target audiences for our work:
- Adults 50+
- Military personnel
- College students
- Preteens
We encourage all forms of bridge, from social to duplicate, both in-person and online, as well as stepping-stone games to get young people started.
We intend to fulfill our mission by developing effective programs and making grants, often in partnership with other organizations such as the American Contract Bridge League and the American Bridge Teachers’ Association.
You can apply for a grant here, and we encourage you to do so, if you are involved in a program or have an idea that you believe fulfills our mission. Smaller grants can be approved by the executive director, while larger ones go through our program committee, chaired by Robert Todd, and may require approval by the full board of trustees. The grant process is competitive, but if you play bridge you’re familiar with competition!
Are you interested in participating in the Foundation’s work?
We are looking for some people to join our committees: program, finance, marketing/communications, development., and executive/governance. If you would like to be considered for any of these committees, contact our executive director, who can connect you to the right committee chair.
Of course, we also invite you to support our work financially, so that we can increase our grant-making and programming.
The next time you renew your ACBL
membership, you can check the box to donate $2 to the Foundation, as tens of thousands of members already do.
You can make a one-time or recurring donation here, and you can remember the Foundation in your will, becoming a member of our legacy society.
The Foundation recently received two major bequests, and several other bridge players have told us they are including the Foundation in their estate planning. If you are interested in exploring this option, please contact Kristen Frederick, our Executive Director.
Please check out our new website, where you can learn about the grants we’ve made, including research projects about the benefits of bridge, the production of a new movie about young people learning the game, and support of the collegiate championships and summer bridge camps.
We believe there is enormous potential to grow this great game. Check back next week, when we will publish the results of our first survey. It will give you an idea of how many millions of people play bridge in North America, and how many millions more are interested in learning to play.