American College of Dentists Foundation: On Our Semicentennial Eve

Stephen A. Ralls, DDS, EdD, MSD President, American College of Dentists Foundation

The American College of Dentists celebrated its centennial last August 20th, the first of three special anniversaries in the same short window. Next up this fall, the Fellowship class of 2021 will mark one hundred years since the induction of the first Fellows in 1921. Then, next year, 2022 signals the fiftieth anniversary of the American College of Dentists Foundation, which was established in 1972. With the Centennial Capital Campaign well underway, and with the looming semicentennial as context, this overview captures the purposive and functional highlights of our Foundation from both organizational and donor perspectives. It also emphasizes the Foundation’s critical role in helping the American College of Dentists fulfill its mission.

The American College of Dentists Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable organization that is aligned with, and directly supportive of, the American College of Dentists. It does have an inherent limitation. By its very nature, our Foundation has to rely on charitable donations to exist—it is not a business with a commercial revenue stream nor is it an organization with dues-paying members. Over its nearly fifty years of existence, the Foundation has steadily grown to essentially become the College’s power supply. On the surface that seems an odd claim for an institution that has never had any employees. While it may seem unusual, it bespeaks the cooperative relationship the Foundation has had with the College since its founding.

It is an unfortunate but stark reality for any organization that a budget is the dream-limiting governor on the throttle. Typically, an organization’s plans can only be as ambitious and visionary as the budget allows. Fortunately, our Foundation continues to grow, and along with it the potential for greater and greater impact. The key point here is that our Foundation does not grow because we wish it so. It grows because of the generosity of Fellows and friends like you who believe that what we do is important to our profession and oral health care.

How can you help? The simple answer is, please consider a gift to the American College of Dentists Foundation. As shown through the examples below, gifts may take a variety of forms and can be something done immediately, paid in installments over time, or as a pledge for future fulfilment. • Cash • Estate bequests • Real estate • Securities • Charitable trusts

• Life insurance policies • Retirement accounts

• Annuities

Gifts to our Foundation are recognized. Currently, for a donation of $500 you can personalize a brick for the walkway of our new building in Rockville. Larger gifts can identify you as a Gies Fellow or Gies Benefactor, and even more substantial gifts can place you in one of several Circle levels from Bronze through Centennial. Regardless of the type, if you would like to consider a gift to our Foundation, or if you need more information, please contact Dr. Theresa Gonzales at our Executive Office, 301977-3223 or email tgonzales@acd.org.

In general, gifts to a 501(c)(3) public charity, such as the American College of Dentists Foundation, are deductible to the extent allowed under federal income, gift, and estate tax laws and regulations. Please consult your tax advisor in advance relative to your particular situation.

Why Give? There are several important professional reasons to give:

• You are supporting the noble mission of the College in advancing excellence, ethics, professionalism, and leadership in dentistry. • You are helping strengthen and improve dentistry, both as a profession and as a healthcare delivery system.

Past presidents of the College and Foundation, Drs. Stilwill and Connolly, with Dr. Stephen Ralls, past president of the ACD and current president of the ACDF.

• You are helping confront and address rising pressures of commercialism and other less-than-ethical forces impacting oral healthcare. • You are helping improve the ethical climate of dentistry. • You are helping promote ethical leadership. • You are assisting an effort to ultimately improve the oral health of the public.

There are also important personal reasons to give: • You decide where your assets will go. • You can leave a named legacy and, depending on the situation, one planned for perpetuity. • You have the satisfaction of giving back. • You have the satisfaction of supporting a noble professional cause. • Your donations may provide a valuable tax strategy.

What does the Foundation do? Your Foundation has an impressive record of making a difference in dentistry. A few examples of support are listed below and elsewhere in this issue, but please note that more information is available on the College’s website. • The Foundation has directly supported numerous projects and activities of the American College of Dentists, such as four Ethics

Summits; Courses Online Dental

Ethics (CODE); Dental History and the Archive Project; Ethics Handbook for Dentists; the Journal of the

American College of Dentists; ethical dilemma videos; growth of our cyber presence; ethics lectures and presentations; ethics scholarships; leadership scholarships; the Ethics and Professionalism Award; support for the Student Professionalism and Ethics Association; publication of the centennial history; the emerging ethics “curriculum in a box”; and much more. • In 1992 the Foundation purchased three contiguous office condominiums in Gaithersburg,

Maryland, through the “Campaign for the 90s.” This property housed the executive office of the College and Foundation for nearly thirty years. • In 2013 the Foundation purchased an office building in Rockville, Maryland, through the generosity of three donors—now the new headquarters of the College, the Foundation, and the Pierre Fauchard Academy.

Our Future and You. Dentistry is facing some very pivotal issues that, left unchallenged, chart a collision course with the basic tenets of our profession. Your support of the American College of Dentists Foundation will directly help the College strengthen its efforts to keep our profession strong, vibrant, relevant, effective, and ethical—not resting on our reputation or past accomplishments but working tirelessly to improve the profession and its impact. Please consider a gift. It will most definitely help, and your participation is important and appreciated. Thank you!

The Immediate Past President of the College serves as the President of the ACD Foundation, providing invaluable leadership and continuity. After serving 20 years as Executive Director of the College, Dr. Ralls was President of the ACD from October 2019-October 2020, shepherding the College through the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and our centennial anniversary.