ICA made it easier to donate to the association by adding to its website a new donation management system.
There are various ways to donate to ICA. Cash gifts are the most common and even before the official launch of our new system, several ICA members have done so. Other gifts might include real estate, stock, royalties, or matching gifts. As indicated on the ICA web site, there is no better way to leave a legacy than to remember ICA in your estate plans. And because ICA is a 501 (c)(3) tax-exempt organization, U.S. donors' gifts are tax-exempt.
Membership dues largely drive ICA's budget. Through the years, fundraising campaigns have targeted funding for a particular project or award. Each individual campaign ran its course and typically met with some success. Occasionally, gifts in various forms have been bequeathed to the organization. Not until now, however, has there been a mechanism designed specifically to handle donations to ICA.
The current list of funds receiving donations include the ICA Building Fund, the Annenberg Graduate Student Travel Fund, the Larry Gross Travel Fund, various division award programs, and the Securing ICA's Future Fund. Division leadership can create specific funding campaigns (drives) for a particular fund. Separate tracking for each drive will show whether one campaign method worked better than another.
Since I joined the ICA home office staff in April 2001, one characteristic about members of our organization has been most evident: their dedication to ICA. Our association has grown to the largest it has ever been. Often, especially during our annual conference, I marvel at just how high our level of dedication is. Over the past seven years, ICA conferences have consistently drawn almost 50% of the association's total membership. Most organizations are lucky if 8 to 10 percent of their membership attends their conference.
ICA members greatly appreciate the extent to which their interaction through ICA contributes to their particular research, both through collaboration and debate. The growing number of papers submitted, the increase in membership, and certainly the percentage of that membership attending our conferences demonstrates that more and more scholars want to support the purpose and goals of ICA.
ICA is again in membership renewal. Each year, we ask members to renew their membership for the next term by the October 1 due date. As you renew, we hope you will take the opportunity to make a donation to ICA while paying your dues invoices. The list of funds to which you might donate is under your sections on the invoice details page.
