With the bright outlook of a new year, the GSA Foundation is sincerely thankful for the generosity of our donors. Many GSA programs benefit from your support, and here are a few highlights from the last year.

Thanks to your contributions, the GSA Foundation was able to fund a record thirty J. David Lowell Field Camp Scholarships. Helping students obtain vital field experience remains a passion of GSA Foundation donors. GSA organizational partner Brunton upped their contribution to match this increase in scholarships by providing thirty personalized, engraved Transit compasses to recipients.

The Foundation’s Spring campaign in 2022 focused on GSA’s On To the Future program, bringing students from underrepresented groups to their first GSA meeting by covering registration, a year’s membership, a travel stipend, and pairing with a one-to-one mentor. A longtime GSAF donor matched your contributions up to $10,000, a challenge this member has offered for several years in a row to bolster this important initiative. You responded with contributions that helped On To the Future recipients attend their first GSA Connects in 2022.

Each year, we work with donors to create a number of new funds that often support research grants or awards. An example of a less-common fund created in the past year is the Christopher I. and Irene N. Chalokwu Travel Grant for Students in Africa. This fund provides support for students in Africa, working on any aspect of African geology, to attend and present their research at GSA’s annual meeting. Dr. Chalokwu and his wife, Dr. Irene Chalokwu, provide an outstanding example of how individuals can create opportunity across geopolitical borders and realize impacts far beyond a single place or time.

Looking Ahead

Over the past several years, GSAF’s annual funding level to the Society has increased thanks to the kinds of generosity described above. Individuals, organizations, and companies recognize the need to help aspiring and established geoscientists pursue their work and make real contributions to the pressing challenges facing the world. The GSA Foundation Board of Trustees and staff are not only committed, but enthused, energized, and poised to develop even greater levels of support for GSA and its programs. We are eager to expand our work with GSA in identifying engaging and effective resource-building strategies; now is the time to explore new partnerships and expand avenues of funding. With your help, we will continue to shape a strong future for GSA and the geoscience community.

To discuss ways you can provide even greater support for GSA as we navigate new roads into evolving landscapes, we invite you to contact Debbie Marcinkowski at dmarcinkowski@geosociety.org or 303-357-1047.