The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Foundation (the Foundation) has had an amazing year resulting in huge investments in the future of nutrition and dietetics. The Foundation is the only non-profit dedicated exclusively to supporting nutrition and dietetics students and professionals by empowering them to help consumers live healthier lives. Through scholarships, research grants, disaster relief funding, and awards, the Foundation has supported hundreds of students and practitioners across the country. Here are some highlights of the work of the Foundation in 2024:
- Scholarships: A cornerstone of the Foundation’s work, educational scholarships allow students who may not otherwise be able to shoulder the cost to enter the field of nutrition and dietetics. And by supporting advanced education, the Foundation makes it possible for currently practicing dietitians to move through higher education to obtain masters and doctoral degrees. In the last year, 307 individuals received $818,650 in scholarship support to continue their education!
- Research Grants: Supporting investigative inquiry helps advance the practice of nutrition and dietetics, elevates the RDN’s expertise, and improves outcomes for patients and clients. This year, the Foundation provided $164,000 in grants for 18 projects.
- Disaster Relief Funds: This year, members and nutrition practitioners experienced significant losses due to natural disasters. The Foundation was honored to be able to offer some assistance to members who qualified by providing $12,650 to eight individuals.
- Awards: Honoring members making their own big investments in the field and supporting members professional advancement is a valuable part of the Foundation’s mission. This year 51 individual received more than $115,000 in awards.
Of course, none of this would be possible without the generous support of Foundation donors, both large and small. Every dollar donated makes a difference. In 2024, the Foundation introduced the first ever Foundation Give Day. Donors gave generously and raised $68,950 – more than twice the goal for this campaign! In addition, the Foundation continued work to fully fund the Make It a Million campaign raising $890,509, getting to 89% of the goal. More than a thousand unique donors gave in this effort to raise $1 million to be able to give away $1 million in scholarships. The Foundation continues to fundraise to close the gap to meet this ambitious goal!
To support future of the field of nutrition and dietetics, the Foundation is on a mission to support scholarships, research, awards, and fellowships and to continue to empower all of the recipients of every Foundation-funded program. The reality is that, even though more than 300 scholarship applicants received support for the 2024-2025 academic year, there were many more qualified candidates who did not receive scholarships this year because of limited funds. As we celebrate all that was accomplished in the past year, we hope you will consider joining us by making a generous contribution to support this work. Visit our fundraising platform to make a donation today.
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