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What is the IFMA Foundation and what does it do?
For more than two decades, hundreds of IFMA members, chapters, councils, corporate sponsors and private contributors have generously supported the IFMA Foundation, a charitable organization, separate from IFMA, which is dedicated to the facility management (FM) profession and FM workforce development.
The Foundation supports educational opportunities, research and scholarships for FM students and professionals. Foundation donors view academics and research as critical strategies in enhancing the FM profession. The IFMA Foundation relies entirely on private support to carry out its mission and receives no funding from IFMA membership dues.
Through their generosity, IFMA donors demonstrate that they care about the future of the FM profession and, moreover, all who enter the facilities in their care.
Mission
Position facility management as a career of choice by promoting and supporting educational opportunities, related scholarships and research initiatives worldwide.
Purpose
Foster FM workforce development by collaborating with higher education institutions worldwide on FM degree programs, FM student scholarships and FM research.
IFMA Foundation Programs
Education
The Foundation promotes higher FM education through its Accredited Degree Program.
Our Accredited Degree Program Initiative has created degree opportunities for more than 800 FM students at 27 colleges and universities in eight countries, increasing more than 150% since 2008. The standards for these degree programs are continually updated to meet the demands of the rapidly changing and evolving FM profession and to ensure that these new colleagues are well-equipped to meet the demands of FM now and in the future.
For the profession to reach the top-of-mind awareness necessary for FM to become a career of choice, it is essential to increase the number of college graduates with FM degrees. A strong accreditation program for degrees in Facility Management is key for the profession’s future.
Scholarships
The Foundation supports aspiring and practicing FMs in their efforts to reach higher, go farther and make a difference.
In 2012, the Foundation awarded $165,000 in scholarships and conference travel grants to more than 40 students, and in 2013 awarded more than $150,000 to 35 students at IFMA’s World Workplace in San Antonio and Philadelphia respectively. Student awards included both a scholarship towards the pursuit of their FM degree and fully paid travel and attendance at the conference. Since 1991, the Foundation has awarded more than $1.1 million to hundreds of aspiring FM professionals.
These scholarships change lives and are a principal strategy and creating the next generation of FM professionals.
Research
The Foundation conducts research significant to the advancement of the profession.
Recent publications include Work on the Move: Driving Strategy and Change in Workplaces has received critical acclaim, and is the Foundation’s best-selling publication ever. Industry-wide interest lead to the 2012 Workplace Strategy Summit: Research in Action at Cornell University, where many of the world’s FM thought leaders created an agenda for the academic study of several of these new workplace strategies and trends.
The Foundation’s newest whitepaper, Benchmarking for Facility Professionals was released in October of 2013. This ‘How-to’ Guide for FM professionals is designed to aid in making informed decisions about how to benchmark and achieve benchmarking goals, and will be available for free download from the Foundation’s website again soon.
The Foundation is focused on forward-looking and over-the-horizon research topics critical to the future of the profession. Our evolving research agenda will align with industry needs, critical issues and trends - creating opportunities for research with higher education and other organizations for years to come.
Types of Support
The Foundation provides several options for donor support, including on-line giving, dues “check-off” (as part of IFMA dues join/renew process) and both a Celebration at IFMA’s World Workplace and a Golf Tournament in the spring each year. Beginning in 2013, the Foundation has launched additional efforts to engage members, chapters and industry to consider generously supporting the programs above.