Let’s Make It a Million—Together
This month, I want to take a moment to celebrate and call attention to the incredible generosity of the 1,199 unique donors who have stepped up to support the Make It a Million Scholarship Campaign. Thanks to their commitment, we’ve raised $970,597 – an incredible 97% of the way to our $1 million campaign goal.
But we’re not there yet.
As a profession of more than 100,000 credentialed nutrition and dietetics practitioners and students, imagine what we could accomplish if everyone gave just $20 or $25. We would exceed our goal in no time and ensure that we can award $1 million in scholarships in perpetuity to students pursuing careers in nutrition and dietetics.
These future professionals face steep costs—on average, over $76,000 for residents and more than $140,000 for non-residents. The cost of higher education has outpaced inflation, making it more challenging to become a dietitian in 2025 than it was 10, 20, and 30+ years ago.
Many dietetics students have overcome significant obstacles to get where they are, but they aren’t using these obstacles as excuses. They are using them as fuel and drawing on these experiences to connect with and help others.
The Foundation’s scholarship applicants dream of improving lives through the transformative power of food and nutrition, especially for vulnerable populations like children, older adults, and underserved communities. They are on the cutting edge of emerging pathways of our profession, ready to step up to help meet the needs of today’s world. They are conceptualizing innovative approaches to help overcome some of our greatest challenges, including the double burden of malnutrition and how to feed our growing global population in a way that is sustainable and nutritious.
When you give, you’re not just donating. You’re opening doors and changing lives – the lives of both the students we support and the patients and clients they will one day help.
Whether you’ve already given to the Foundation or this is your first time, please know your gift matters. Gifts of all sizes matter. Join us and help push this campaign over the finish line and be the reason one more student gets the support they need.
Let’s make history together.
Let’s Make It a Million.
With gratitude,
Catherine Christie, PhD, RDN, LDN, FAND
2025-2026 Academy Foundation Chair
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