Over the past several months, I hope that you have noticed the increased activity and visibility of the IACP Foundation and its programs. The foundation is a cause that I, along with the entire IACP leadership, am proud to support, and I am pleased to be able to share some of the ways in which the foundation has had a direct impact on real people in our shared community of professional policing.

If you have not had the opportunity to read about the foundation in recent issues of the Police Chief, I encourage you to take a moment and review the newly dedicated column in the magazine (since April 2008) to learn more about how the foundation started and why we, as police chiefs, should truly take its mission to heart.

One of the taglines frequently associated with the IACP Foundation reads simply, “leadership, scholarship, fellowship.” This is a succinct, but accurate, representation of how the foundation defines its purpose in the law enforcement community. One of the key objectives of the foundation is to support the IACP’s Center for Police Leadership (CPL) and its flagship curriculum, the Leadership in Police Organizations training course.

In addition to the CPL, the foundation also offers opportunities for professional development in leadership training for active law enforcement officers by providing scholarships to the prestigious Northwestern University Center for Public Safety’s 10-week School of Police Staff and Command, as well as a full one-year scholarship to Grantham University. The recipients of these scholarships are highlighted in the foundation column in this issue of the Police Chief.

The notion of scholarship support through the IACP Foundation also extends to the surviving family members of officers fallen or permanently disabled in the line of duty. This year, the foundation is proud to be able to defray continuing education costs for three scholarship recipients.

Amanda is an incoming college freshman whose father, a Florida law enforcement officer, was struck by a vehicle and permanently disabled; Cheryl, the widow of a New Mexico law enforcement officer who died while saving a drowning boy; and Carey, a returning student to the University of Texas at Tyler, whose mother is a former Texas corrections officer who was assaulted on duty and permanently disabled. These recipients will be highlighted in the October issue of the Police Chief.

The foundation also helps foster leadership among the international community through its Global Enrichment Program (GEP), providing the opportunity for law enforcement professionals from underrepresented nations to receive a complimentary two-year membership to the IACP.

Finally, the foundation promotes the advancement of professional policing by providing no-cost training CDs to departments upon request on such topics as emergency driving, railway collision investigation, and community safety.

The IACP Foundation is truly able to touch lives through its programs. Each of these scholarship recipients is a real human being with a face and a story. And every law enforcement agency that receives assistance, through membership or no-cost training tools, benefits from the foundation’s work.

The foundation is supported by contributions from you, the members, as well as through the participation of corporate partners dedicated to the delivery of high-quality programs to the law enforcement community. You can donate easily, through the IACP Foundation Web site (www.theiacpfoundation.org) or through the annual giving appeal included with the dues renewal process at the end of the year.

However, if you are looking for a more dynamic way to become involved in the foundation, please consider joining us at the IACP Foundation’s Second Annual Fundraising Gala and Silent Auction, to be held in conjunction with the 115th Annual IACP Conference in San Diego.

On Saturday, November 8, at the Manchester Grand Hyatt, best-selling author Joseph Wambaugh will be the keynote speaker at the gala dinner, with all proceeds benefiting the programs and initiatives of the foundation. Last year’s event with former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani raised over $100,000, and both foundation board and staff hope to exceed that amount in San Diego. (Individual tickets are $200 each and seating is limited; corporate tables are available. Click here to see the full-page ad and click here to access the registration form.)

It is through the fellowship of professional policing, by way of the IACP Foundation, that we can multiply our combined ability to achieve real, meaningful change for the global law enforcement family. ■