09/16/2016

OSAE Announces Planned Launch of OSAE Foundation

The organization’s mission will be to support Ohio’s association management industry through education and research

In an effort to invest in the future of the association management profession and its long-term leadership, the Ohio Society of Association Executives (OSAE) will soon be launching the Ohio Society of Association Executives Foundation. The mission of the OSAE Foundation will be to advance association management and leadership through education and research.

“The OSAE Board of Directors and the organization’s staff strongly believe that the formation of the Foundation is key to guaranteeing the long-term success of the industry and is a strong reminder that by paying it forward today, we can ensure the best and brightest succeed tomorrow,” said OSAE Board President Holly Dorr, Deputy Executive Director, Ohio Chapter, American College of Emergency Physicians. “Not only will this allow us to invest in the future of the industry, it will enhance the educational and research offerings that OSAE can provide to its members today. I personally am very excited about what this could mean for the future of OSAE and its long-term impact on bettering the association management industry.”

In addition to offering educational and research components to Ohio’s association industry, the Foundation is expected to oversee the Shane Yates Memorial Scholarship, a fund that would allow organizations, corporate partners and individuals to charitably donate to the development of association management professionals for years to come. This was an interest that was held in high esteem by OSAE’s previous executive director, Shane Yates, CAE, who died unexpectedly in February 2016.

“By establishing the Foundation and looking at ways we can drive growth in the lives of association members, we are paying tribute to Shane’s memory and a profession in which he was so invested,” said Jarrod A. Clabaugh, OSAE’s executive director. “This scholarship and the overall formation of the Foundation highlight the core of Shane’s character: Taking care of others and building on professionalism. I can’t image a better way to pay respect to his legacy.”

Upon its official launch, the Foundation will be announcing additional information, including members of its Board of Directors and its vision for short- and long-term actions designed at moving the industry forward. This year, funds from the OSAE Holiday Luncheon will be directed to the Foundation and be held for projects that further the Foundation’s mission.

OSAE also foresees the Foundation as a path forward in evolving more relationships with Ohio’s business sector and expanding on its footprint outside of Ohio’s leading metropolitan centers. The Society will be looking to its membership and its active affiliate and CVB member relationships to drive the influence of the Foundation and to help Ohio’s association management profession garner more attention as an industry of growth and long-term development. As OSAE’s philanthropic arm, the Foundation will raise funds and invest in projects that directly support the educational and research advancement of associations in Ohio.