Success Through Scholarships, Education and Awards

  • Oct 20, 2015
  • Joan Hiller, Trustee

Highlighting a productive year and how you can continue the progress

2015 has been a superb year at the Mensa Foundation. You and your Foundation have accomplished some great work. Together we have sent 187 students back to school with a little extra money for tuition and books. At the Colloquium on June 30, we explored the inner reaches of the brain and how it works. And we were just getting started.

Mensa for Kids has educated and entertained children (and adults) across the globe this year. Our gifted children resources were used by teachers throughout the world. Parents got ideas, resources, support and direction from our gifted youth staff, and more than 55 gifted children connected, played and learned in Spark! at the Annual Gathering. It has been busy, but that’s not all we’ve been doing.

People exploring the Library of Congress’ National Book Festival saw the Foundation represented on the National Book Festival Guide as part of our support of literacy and reading. The Mensa Research Journal brought you cutting-edge research on intelligence. And we highlighted and honored people for their research into genius, creativity and how talent is developed.

The Mensa Foundation expands your reach, forming partnerships and relationships that improve lives, spur creativity and showcase what happens when intelligence meets effort.

So now it’s time to ask — what’s next?

Your Foundation has great plans for 2016. We want to increase the amount of money awarded in local group scholarships. We are getting up close and personal with DNA at the Colloquium on June 28.

Steve Slepner, your Mensa Research Journal editor, has great new themes to highlight the newest knowledge and innovation in intelligence research. And the Awards Committee is on the lookout for great teachers, researchers and creative people to become next year’s honorees. (Nominate a teacher or professor for the Distinguished Teacher Award here.)

Much has been accomplished; you have many reasons to be proud.

Last year we spent a little more than $380,000 to make these programs and scholarships happen. We need to replenish the coffers for next year — plus raise a little extra if we want to increase those scholarships. Your Foundation needs your help.

Fifty dollars funds 80 copies of the National Book Festival Guide; $100 provides materials for a session of Spark! at the AG; $200 can put a new piece of content on the Mensa for Kids website; $300 is what it will take to double the amount of the award of one local group scholarship — and we need 95 of those to be able to make it happen.

Here are two things you can do to make all this possible: One, make your tax-deductible donation today. Two, after you make your contribution, call two friends and remind them to make theirs. Life is busy, we all have great intentions, and things slip off our radars. Help two friends fulfill their intention to support their Foundation. They’ll feel good they remembered, and you just increased the impact of your own contribution.

Together, we make great things happen.