AAP Foundation- Profile of Kyle Gorden
Kyle Gorden became executive director of the AAP Foundation in January. Sarah VanAmburg, director of development programs, sat down with him to discuss his background, what he has learned about the Foundation so far, and his vision for its future.
SV: How did you come to the American Academy of Periodontology Foundation?
KG: My entire career has been in the advancement profession – for arts organizations and in several alumni relations and development roles at my alma mater, the University of Chicago. I spent the last decade as a consultant for nonprofits of all types, from major universities to small social service organizations. Two in particular – the Urban Land Institute Foundation and the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities – introduced me to associations and what I see as their largely untapped potential for philanthropic impact. Since most health-related associations are headquartered in the Chicago area – where I have spent most of my adult life – I decided to keep an eye out for opportunities in the field.
SV: As a newcomer to the specialty, what are your impressions of periodontology and the AAP Foundation?
KG: It’s a remarkable time to be joining the Foundation, in its 35th anniversary year. I’m incredibly fortunate to be inheriting an ambitious fundraising campaign that has already launched with great enthusiasm, a rush of initial support, and a strong volunteer leadership team in place. The number of AAP members who have already stepped up with unrestricted gifts is a testament to the trust that the community has in this organization, reflecting our long history of support for periodontal education. More than 350 periodontists have received at least one award from the Foundation, and every one that I’ve spoken to has told me how dramatically it impacted the course of their career, including those with relatively modest monetary awards. The support from the AAP itself and from the American Board of Periodontology just confirms the strength of the mutually beneficial relationships between all three organizations and their shared constituencies.
SV: What are the Foundation’s fundraising priorities in the near term?
KG: The Foundation for the Future campaign is focused on unrestricted gifts, so that’s our top priority. There are also numerous opportunities for donors to support existing award programs without dedicated funding sources, including some of our most prominent awards. We also welcome inquiries from donors with more ambitious ideas to create new programs, although we’ll ask them to consider making portions of their gifts unrestricted to ensure that we have the capability to execute those new programs.
SV: What about in the longer term? Where do you see the Foundation in five or ten years?
KG: Most philanthropic dollars in the biomedical field fund research. While the Foundation supports research by recognizing and awarding those who perform it, it hasn’t historically made many investments that fund direct research costs. There’s a real gap in the research funding pipeline between basic science and clinical trials, what’s called “translational” research, and I think that’s an area where the Foundation’s donors can have a major impact in the coming years.
SV: Where do you see the biggest opportunities for fundraising growth?
KG: The Foundation was established by the Academy to assist periodontists in realizing their ambitions to positively impact the specialty through philanthropy. We’re renewing our focus on planned or strategic giving – leveraging opportunities for gifts that advance our mission while also offering benefits to the donor. Planned giving isn’t just about bequests—it turns out that many of the Foundation’s largest gifts were made by donors in their 50s and 60s. This year we’re renaming our annual planned giving event at the Annual Meeting the Practice Transition, Retirement, and Estate Planning Breakfast, to reflect that.
SV: The Foundation’s mission is “to advance the specialty of periodontology and dental implant surgery through advocacy, research, and education.” You’ve spoken about the education and research components—how do we achieve the advocacy part?
KG: In a way, the advocacy component is the most interesting. Advocacy isn’t just about lobbying and, as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, there are restrictions on how much we can do to advocate for government policies. I see our role as providing tools for periodontists to raise awareness in their own communities: of periodontal and peri-implant diseases, of the importance of treating them, and of the dedicated specialists who can help. This is something the Foundation has done for years with programs like PerioDash, although they haven’t always been positioned in that way. This year we’re working with our board and volunteers to better articulate that work and to identify new ways to pursue that critical component of our mission.
Kyle Gorden became executive director of the AAP Foundation in January. Sarah VanAmburg, director of development programs, sat down with him to discuss his background, what he has learned about the Foundation so far, and his vision for its future.
SV: How did you come to the American Academy of Periodontology Foundation?
KG: My entire career has been in the advancement profession – for arts organizations and in several alumni relations and development roles at my alma mater, the University of Chicago. I spent the last decade as a consultant for nonprofits of all types, from major universities to small social service organizations. Two in particular – the Urban Land Institute Foundation and the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities – introduced me to associations and what I see as their largely untapped potential for philanthropic impact. Since most health-related associations are headquartered in the Chicago area – where I have spent most of my adult life – I decided to keep an eye out for opportunities in the field.
SV: As a newcomer to the specialty, what are your impressions of periodontology and the AAP Foundation?
KG: It’s a remarkable time to be joining the Foundation, in its 35th anniversary year. I’m incredibly fortunate to be inheriting an ambitious fundraising campaign that has already launched with great enthusiasm, a rush of initial support, and a strong volunteer leadership team in place. The number of AAP members who have already stepped up with unrestricted gifts is a testament to the trust that the community has in this organization, reflecting our long history of support for periodontal education. More than 350 periodontists have received at least one award from the Foundation, and every one that I’ve spoken to has told me how dramatically it impacted the course of their career, including those with relatively modest monetary awards. The support from the AAP itself and from the American Board of Periodontology just confirms the strength of the mutually beneficial relationships between all three organizations and their shared constituencies.
SV: What are the Foundation’s fundraising priorities in the near term?
KG: The Foundation for the Future campaign is focused on unrestricted gifts, so that’s our top priority. There are also numerous opportunities for donors to support existing award programs without dedicated funding sources, including some of our most prominent awards. We also welcome inquiries from donors with more ambitious ideas to create new programs, although we’ll ask them to consider making portions of their gifts unrestricted to ensure that we have the capability to execute those new programs.
SV: What about in the longer term? Where do you see the Foundation in five or ten years?
KG: Most philanthropic dollars in the biomedical field fund research. While the Foundation supports research by recognizing and awarding those who perform it, it hasn’t historically made many investments that fund direct research costs. There’s a real gap in the research funding pipeline between basic science and clinical trials, what’s called “translational” research, and I think that’s an area where the Foundation’s donors can have a major impact in the coming years.
SV: Where do you see the biggest opportunities for fundraising growth?
KG: The Foundation was established by the Academy to assist periodontists in realizing their ambitions to positively impact the specialty through philanthropy. We’re renewing our focus on planned or strategic giving – leveraging opportunities for gifts that advance our mission while also offering benefits to the donor. Planned giving isn’t just about bequests—it turns out that many of the Foundation’s largest gifts were made by donors in their 50s and 60s. This year we’re renaming our annual planned giving event at the Annual Meeting the Practice Transition, Retirement, and Estate Planning Breakfast, to reflect that.
SV: The Foundation’s mission is “to advance the specialty of periodontology and dental implant surgery through advocacy, research, and education.” You’ve spoken about the education and research components—how do we achieve the advocacy part?
KG: In a way, the advocacy component is the most interesting. Advocacy isn’t just about lobbying and, as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, there are restrictions on how much we can do to advocate for government policies. I see our role as providing tools for periodontists to raise awareness in their own communities: of periodontal and peri-implant diseases, of the importance of treating them, and of the dedicated specialists who can help. This is something the Foundation has done for years with programs like PerioDash, although they haven’t always been positioned in that way. This year we’re working with our board and volunteers to better articulate that work and to identify new ways to pursue that critical component of our mission.