NCA Foundation launches campaign

The National Club Association Foundation launched the Campaign to Shape the Future this week during the NCA National Club Conference in Washington, D.C. At the forefront of the campaign is the availability of matching funds, made possible through the generous support of campaign sponsors, John Sibbald Associates and Judd Brown Designs. Together these two firms pledged $25,000 to be used as 100 percent matching funds for individual donations.

Foundation chairman Robert James, general manager of Westchester Country Club in Rye, N.Y., kicked off the campaign by recognizing John Sibbald Associates and Judd Brown Designs for their gifts and dedication to the future of the private club industry.

The campaign is the first major gift-matching grant campaign pursued by the Foundation, and the goal of the Campaign to Shape the Future is to raise $50,000 for the Foundation to fund research, education and resources to prepare club leaders for the challenges of tomorrow. Future projects that will benefit from this campaign are the The Club Law Handbook: A Guide for Private Clubs and their Counsel and The Impact of Club Technology on Shaping the Future Club Experience. The Club Law Handbook will be a definitive legal resource to help clubs manage legal risks and exposure, complete with checklists, policies and step-by-step action plans to pursue if legal challenges arise. The technology project is a joint venture between the Foundation and the Hospitality and Financial Technology Professionals that will assess technology trends affecting private clubs, including systems, software, Web-based products and services, and IT staffing. The study will help clubs strategically evaluate their technology needs and develop a long-term technology strategy. Both projects are slated to be completed in the next year.

Donations to the campaign also will enable the Foundation to continue supporting annual programs such as the NCA National Club Conference and the annual Trends & Issues: A Private Club Perspective, which provides in-depth analysis of nationwide trends in demographics, economics, workforce and lifestyle issues affecting the private club world. The Foundation is one of the two premiere sponsors for the National Club Conference in 2009.

For additional information on the Campaign to Shape the Future or other Foundation projects and supporters, please visit www.ncafoundation.org.