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Endowments and Funds

The American College of Sports Medicine Foundation receives, administers and disburses funds to support the College’s educational, scientific and charitable purposes. Each year the Foundation awards approximately $100,000 in research awards and scholarships. To sustain and build these funds, the Foundation conducts ongoing fundraising efforts. At your request, you may designate your gift as restricted funds for one or more of these endowments.

Carl G. Gisolfi Memorial Fund.  Carl V. Gisolfi, Ph.D., FACSM, was one of the most influential leaders of ACSM in its 50+ history.  With Gatorade, ACSM created the Gisolfi Memorial Fund to honor his many contributions to ACSM and the exercise science field.  This fund is designated to encourage research in thermoregulation, exercise, and hydration.

Clinical Sports Medicine Fund.  Additional funds are needed to increase the endowment balance for research in clinical sports medicine, so that a dedicated research grant can be awarded each year to a sports medicine clinician.

Doctoral Student Research Grants.  ACSM Foundation Research Grants for doctoral students up to $5,000 for a one-year period. The awards are to be used for experimental subjects, supplies, and small equipment needs. Doctoral students enrolled in full-time programs are eligible to apply.

Education Endowment.   The Foundation recognizes that education is a key element to fulfilling the mission of ACSM.  The goal of the endowment is to fund a member's educational outreach project in exercise science or sports medicine.

Michael L. Pollock Memorial Fund.  Established in memory of Michael L. Pollock, Ph.D., FACSM, this fund will be used to assist students wanting to attend the ACSM Annual Meeting.

Ralph S. Paffenbarger-Blair Fund for Epidemiological Research on Physical Activity. In 1996, Ralph S. Paffenbarger, M.D., DrPh, Dsc, FACSM was co-recipient of the first Olympic Prize for Sports Sciences.   Dr. Paffenbarger gifted this medal to Steven Blair, P.E.D., FACSM, who, in turn, donated the medal to ACSM.  ACSM created this fund in recognition of Dr. Paffenbarger's many contributions to the College and epidemiology research in the physical activity area.  This fund awards an annual grant to enhance ongoing research in the field of epidemiology.

Raymond Weiss Endowment Fund.   Created by Raymond Weiss, Ph.D., FACSM, and Rosalee Weiss, Ph.D., this endowment fund was established to provide on-going financial support to sponsor research on the subject of the physical, mental and emotional benefits of physical activity.  The Weisses established the endowment fund with current gifts so that they may witness grantmaking for sponsored research. Ultimately, they have planned additional gifts to the Weiss Endowment Fund by a will bequest included in their estate plan.

Research Endowment.  Basic and applied scientists have always been contributors to the success of ACSM.  To honor this commitment to excellence, the Foundation maintains an endowment dedicated to the advancement of basic and applied research.  The fund annually awards $10,000 to an outstanding research project submitted to the ACSM Foundation Research Grants Program.

Steven M. Horvath Travel Award.  Established in memory of Steven M. Horvath, Ph.D., FACSM, fund will be used to assist students wanting to attend the ACSM Annual Meeting.

In addition to providing research grants and scholarships from these funds, the ACSM Foundation helps provide the following support for the College:

Education.  Four meetings each year make up the College’s core curriculum: Annual Meeting, Health & Fitness Summit, Team Physician Course and Advanced Team Physician Course. Through sponsorships given to the Foundation, the quality of these programs is improved and enhanced.

International Scholar Program.  The American College of Sports Medicine funds one visiting scholar award each year. Award recipients are professionals who travel to the United States or Canada to spend one to two months learning a new research technique. The trip coincides with the ACSM Annual Meeting so that that scholar may participate in the meeting. This program covers portions of the visiting scholar's airfare, lodging, food, incidentals, and medical insurance for one to two months .

International Student Award.  Up to three students each year, from countries outside North America, are selected to receive an Award of $1,000 each. This money is used to help cover personal expenses related to presenting research abstracts at ACSM’s Annual Meetings.

Minority Scholarships.  Beginning in 2006, the Foundation will award scholarships to minorities in the field of sports medicine. Additional funding is needed to allow the college to make a tremendous impact.

Regional Chapter Grants.  Each of the College's 12 Regional Chapters receives a $3,250 operating grant to assist with operational expenses, meeting expenses and/or scholarships/grants.

Regional Chapter Research Grants.  Each of the College's 12 Regional Chapters receives a grant of $500 for student research awards in its region.

Research Grants.  The Foundation awards a number of grants for outstanding research in un-sponsored areas to be conducted by doctoral students who are members of the College.   These grants are funded through unrestricted annual gifts to the Foundation.   Current Grant Opportunities.

For more information on making a restricted gift to one of these funds, please contact Tina Harland, Director of ACSM Foundation, at  tharland@acsm.org or 317-637-9200 ext. 142.