Fundraising for APS Honors

Thank you for expressing interest in establishing a new award or prize. The American Physical Society is largely dependent upon and grateful for donations received from individuals (members and non-members), foundations, laboratories, corporations, and other institutions that fund APS-level honors and unit-level awards. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to celebrate the achievements of physicists in different stages of their careers. It’s a great privilege to have many of these named after physicists who have made a difference in their field.

Establishment of a new APS honor

To propose a new honor, please contact the APS Honors team for information about the process you should follow.

The APS Development staff will provide fundraising counsel to all units. However, given the increasing cost of administration, record-keeping and compliance, the APS Development Department will provide minimal support for unit level awards and reserve the bulk of their time and connections (with foundations and corporations) for Society-level awards.

Fundraising for an honor

Once approved by the Council, the APS Development Team can guide volunteers through the steps described on this page.

Non-endowed honors

The sum of the stipend, certificate, and/or travel expenses is paid in full annually or biennially by donors. In some instances, the sponsoring unit may contribute a portion of the expenses. External donors are generally billed by the Development Office, and unit funds are transferred internally by APS Finance.

Note: There is no “corpus” that creates annual income to fund these.

Endowed honors

Restricted donations are secured to establish an endowment that will fund an honor (including the stipend, certificate, travel expenses, as well as other direct honors costs) in perpetuity with investment income. The process entails Development staff coordinating with volunteers to:

1. Set a total fundraising goal equal to at least 30 times the stipend to support the total honor in perpetuity
2. Develop a fundraising strategy (prospects, amounts, approaches, timeline)
3. Research prospects and determine their capacity and inclination to give
4. Collaborate with APS Communications to establish a web presence and create and distribute email solicitations to unit members and other relevant prospects
5. Collaborate with Communications staff to design printed materials, if needed (campaign letterhead, brochures, etc.)
6. Provide a draft announcement when a unit achieves its goal
7. Maintain prospect and donor records (pledges, outright gifts, revenue, contact information)
8. Process gifts together with APS Finance
9. Recognize donors (creating and sending acknowledgements, thank you notes, tax receipts; listing donors on the campaign webpage)

The annual or biennial honor will be funded through endowment earnings on the endowed corpus.

Timeframe for awarding an endowed honor

Considering the timetable required for implementation, a new honor may be awarded within 12-18 months from the time the sum of outright gifts and pledges equals the full amount required for endowment. Before fundraising can begin, APS Council must have approved the new honor’s proposal.

Donors will be advised in the unusual circumstance of a funding initiative falling short. If the fundraising goal is not reached within three years or pledge payments are not received within five years from the campaign launch (the date on which either the first outright gift or pledge is received by the Development Department), the respective unit, in consultation with the donor(s) and the APS Committee on Prizes & Awards, shall have the discretion to direct the use of the funds, either to fund an already existing prize or award and/or a related activity — until the funds are fully utilized.

Donor recognition

All donors — individuals (members and non-members) and sponsoring foundations, laboratories, and corporations — will be listed on the campaign webpage and in the APS Annual Report. Those contributing ≥$50,000 will be recognized as follows:

• Name listed on the honors webpage, to include, for foundations, laboratories, and corporations, a hyperlink to the sponsor’s homepage.
• Co-presenting at a meeting: A co-presenter will assist the APS CEO and president in recognizing the recipient(s) of an honor at the Prize and Award Ceremony. The co-presenter is introduced by the APS CEO or president, invited to stand on stage during the presentation of the honor, and is photographed co-presenting the certificate to the recipient(s).
  • A newly endowed APS Society honor will have an inaugural opportunity for a co-sponsor presentation at the appropriate corresponding American Physical Society award ceremony based on the donor agreement, funding level, and other eligibility criteria set by APS.
  • Unit honors will remain un-eligible for co-presenting at an APS Society event. Co-presenting opportunities will remain at the discretion of the unit leadership during unit meetings.
  • Joint honors with sister societies for which the sister society manages recipient selection or shares the responsibility for recipient selection are eligible for co-presenting the honor at an APS meeting.
• Invitation to the President’s Reception at the March or April meeting. This reception is an invite-only event. In attendance are the Senior Leadership Team, Board of Directors, Selection Committee members and honorees.

Retiring or repurposing an existing honor

If either the endowment level for an existing honor falls below the accepted minimum or its sponsorship is not renewed, the home unit(s) or committee(s) will be asked to work with the APS Development staff to raise additional funds, or to identify new sponsor(s). If efforts are not successful, the related funds will be redirected or spent down in accordance with the donor(s)’ wishes. Moreover, as the field of physics continues to evolve and some APS awards are no longer serving their purpose, APS, in consultation with internal stakeholders and with consent from the donor(s), may consider retiring or repurposing existing honors.

Forming an APS unit fundraising committee

Reasons that a unit may need to establish an endowment campaign:

• A new honor has been approved and/or has a zero balance
• An existing honor requires additional funding

After obtaining the proper approval, the Unit Executive Committee will appoint a fundraising chair and recruit four to six Fundraising Committee members. The fundraising chair might be a member of the Executive Committee or a well-known and respected individual in the physics community who lends their name to the campaign to inspire donors.

Development staff will assist these volunteers by working together to develop and implement a campaign strategy, including: setting the goal and a timeline, identifying prospects, and drafting and distributing solicitations, acknowledgements, and/or stewardship reports.

Phases of a fundraising campaign

Pre-campaign and prospect identification

To identify lead prospects, decide which prospects will be asked to make the largest gifts and assign them to members of the Fundraising Committee. Members should know and be well-connected to their prospects.

Generally, the majority of the revenue (typically 80% of the goal) will be from approximately 20% of the donors, and the majority of gifts will equal the least amount of revenue.

The quiet phase

Essentially, the campaign begins during this phase. The objective is to raise 60 - 80% of the goal at this time, and to give the campaign the momentum it needs before a public launch. The Fundraising Committee solicits the top three to 10 lead gifts. This phase can take six to nine months.

The middle launch and public phase

The middle launch of the campaign can be challenging, as few big donors are motivated by the idea that their contributions will bring up the middle. Most big donors prefer to contribute first, at the beginning of the campaign, or at the end to help put you over the top. Different fundraising professionals and organizations may give slightly different recommendations, but they tend to encourage you to achieve between 60 - 80% of your fundraising goal before going public. That way, as One Cause Fundraising Solutions describes, in the public phase of your campaign, you'll be able to build up momentum with appeals to both larger and smaller donors, who can help take your campaign over the finish line. During the public phase, as fundraising firm Donorly notes, you'll want to continue to cultivate and thank your big donors while also reaching out to the wider community of individuals who may be inspired to give to the campaign.

Achieving goal

This is the time to celebrate: The goal has been achieved or surpassed! Please start by taking a moment and congratulating yourself and your committee; this was no easy feat. The Development staff can provide a draft message to share with the unit(s) benefiting from this award. We also recommend highlighting this accomplishment in the unit’s newsletter, with details about a call for nominations and the first awarding.

The APS Development Office has created this overview to provide APS members with an understanding of the Society’s fundraising process. If you have any questions, please contact the APS Senior Manager, Campaign and Donor Relations.