Growing a Foundation from the Roots Up
THE FOUNDATION FOR SAFER ATHLETIC FIELDS FOR EVERYONE (SAFE) is growing, in part to a new initiative rolled out by its Board of Trustees in November. The Grass Roots Ini- tiative is designed to engage STMA members in providing ground level support for the Foundation. SAFE is STMA's 501 (c) (3) charity.
mum an amount that corresponds to the year that they joined the association, and donate that amount each year for 5 years. For exam- ple, if a member joined STMA in 2001, he/she would contribute $20.01 each year for a total donation of $100.05. The grass roots initiative has increased it
This initiative is important to build recog-
nition of SAFE within the STMA membership, thus enabling the Foundation to fundraise from those external to STMA. External donors want to know that the association's members support its own charity. Grass Roots is the first step in an industry-wide initiative: Sports and Recreation Fields - Safety First. Its core purpose is to fund education, outreach, research and scholarships to advance the safety and sus- tainability of playing surfaces and reduce sports field injuries. Through the Grassroots campaign, STMA members are asked to contribute at a mini-
number of donors by more than 1000 percent from its ground level support in previous years. SAFE's fundraising programs also ex- pand beyond Grass Roots. SAFE raised more than $27,000 during this year's STMA confer- ence events, which included a golf tourna- ment, a casino night, raffles, and silent and live auctions. The SAFE Foundation spent 2011 redefin-
ing itself. It implemented a new mission, a new vision and officially changed its name. Previously it was known as the Foundation for Safer Athletic Field Environments. Its new mis- sion focuses on outreach to communities highlighting the importance of safe fields for users at all levels. SAFE continues to contribute to the overall
growth of knowledge and talent within the in- dustry. Since 2003, with its limited funding it has awarded $112,250 in pure scholarship and grant dollars representing 101 recipients.
STMA Affiliated Chapters Contact Information
Sports Turf Managers Association of Arizona: Chris Walsh cwalsh@scottsdaleaz.gov
Colorado Sports Turf Managers Association: www.cstma.org.
Florida #1 Chapter (South): 305-235-5101 (Bruce Bates) or Tom Curran CTomSell@aol.com
Florida #2 Chapter (North): 850-580-4026, John Mascaro, john@turf-tec.com
Florida #3 Chapter (Central): 407-518-2347, Scott Grace, scott@sundome.org
Gateway Chapter Sports Turf Managers Association: www.gatewaystma.org.
Georgia Sports Turf Managers Association: www.gstma.org.
Greater L.A. Basin Chapter of the Sports Turf Managers Association: www.stmalabasin.com.
Illinois Chapter STMA: www.ILSTMA.org.
Intermountain Chapter of the Sports Turf Managers Association: www.imstma.org.
Iowa Sports Turf Managers Association: www.iowaturfgrass.org.
Kentucky Sports Turf Managers Association: www.kystma.org.
Keystone Athletic Field Managers Org. (KAFMO/STMA): www.kafmo.org.
Michigan Sports Turf Managers Association (MiSTMA): www.mistma.org.
Mid Atlantic Sports Turf Managers Association (MASTMA) (formerly the Chesapeake Chapter STMA) 410-704-2197 www.mastma.org
Minnesota Park and Sports Turf Managers Association: www.mpstma.org
MO-KAN Sports Turf Managers Association: www.mokanstma.com.
Nebraska Sports Turf Managers Association: 402-441-4425.
New England STMA (NESTMA): www.nestma.org.
Sports Field Managers Association of New Jersey: www.sfmanj.org.
Sports Turf Managers of New York: www.stmony.org.
North Carolina Chapter of STMA: www.ncsportsturf.org.
Northern California STMA: www.norcalstma.org.
Ohio Sports Turf Managers Association (OSTMA): www.ostma.org.
Oklahoma Chapter STMA: 405-744-5729; Contact: Dr. Justin Moss
Oregon STMA Chapter: www.oregonsportsturfmanagers.org oregonstma@gmail.com
Ozarks STMA: www.ozarksstma.org.
Pacific Northwest Sports Turf Managers Association: www.pnwstma.org.
Southern California Chapter: www.socalstma.com.
South Carolina Chapter of STMA: www.scstma.org.
Tennessee Valley Sports Turf Managers Association (TVSTMA): www.tvstma.com.
Texas Sports Turf Managers Association: www.txstma.org
Virginia Sports Turf Managers Association: www.vstma.org.
Wisconsin Sports Turf Managers Association: www.wstma.org.
Chapter Sponsors
SAFE has provided more than $50,000 in travel assistance to these recipients, and awards $8,000 annually to the two top winning Stu- dent Challenge teams at the annual confer- ence. SAFE also supports the development of STMA educational materials. With additional funding SAFE will do so much more. SAFE's goal is to raise $1,000,000 over 5
years.
