Foundation Voices Blog

It all started in the mid-’80s with a small ad in the Bulletin: Help Wanted — Editor of the Mensa Research Journal. “I can do that,” I thought.

The Mensa Foundation brings scholarships and colloquiums to us. It’s up to us to make the most of them and, by donating our time and our funds, to make sure they continue.

It's that time between the holidays and the first crocus where those of us grounded by blizzards watch the weather forecasts and daydream of spring and summer days. As school winds down, parents start thinking about ways to show appreciation to all the people who guided, cajoled, taught, encouraged and inspired our children.

Each local group can apply for up to $200 per year to pay for things like planetarium shows, museum admissions and even behind-the-scenes visits to local theme parks — all that is asked in return is for the local group to share the costs.

The Foundation’s Awards for Excellence in Research and the Lifetime Achievement Awards provide recognition for researchers — recognition that helps generations of scholars bring new insights to the field of human intelligence, and the Mensa Research Journal helps spread the word about their work.

2015 has been a superb year at the Mensa Foundation. Together we have sent 187 students back to school with a little extra money for tuition and books, we explored the inner reaches of the brain and how it works, and our gifted children resources were used by teachers throughout the world. And we were just getting started.

The Mensa Foundation serves to address key parts of Mensa's mission statement: to identify and foster human intelligence for the benefit of humanity and to encourage research in the nature, characteristics and uses of intelligence.

As we wrap up this year, 188 grateful students will receive scholarship money thanks to the donors and local groups who contributed funds to sustain and increase scholarship awards. The dedication of the 400 to 500 volunteers who serve as judges and chairs at the local, regional, national and international level are definitely the backbone of the program and make me very proud to be a Mensa member.