Advancing the Dietetics Profession through the Foundation's Philanthropy.

W ITHOUT CHARITIES, THE United States would not be able to operate, says Charity Navigator, the mostwidely used, independent evaluator of US philanthropic organizations. Can the same be said of professional member associations? That is, would dietetics be able to operate without the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics* Foundation? Although a philanthropic organization that supports an allied health profession may not be essential to the delivery of practice, it certainly is vital in furthering an association’s goals and making an impact on the country—on the world—through endowed initiatives that fulfill some of the most pressing issues of the time. The Academy’s Foundation has certainly exemplified this in the past several decades. Just before 1990, the Foundation had its hands full with amultitude of activities, in addition to the continuation of conferring awards and scholarships to deserving students,practitioners,andcorporateentities: it hosted its first annual Friends of the Foundation dinner to fund its programs,