Dear Friends of the National Institute —
Okay, where to next?
Well, the end of 2020 is finally in sight. What a year it has been! Unprecedented challenges, tragedy, and drama have made this year more difficult than most for many, many people, and we are not completely out of the woods yet.
Nevertheless, the National Institute has not been idle. We have continued to execute our mission to enlighten and inform, and to Celebrate Knowledge.
Early in the year, the Board made the unanimous decision to pivot to an entirely virtual program of activities for 2020. This required some difficult operating choices and dramatic cuts in our operating budget. Nevertheless, with your support and the tireless volunteer efforts of your Trustees and Officers, we have managed not only to increase our educational content throughout the year and continue our grant-making activities, but also to end the year in a stronger financial position than we started it.
From the summer onward, we hosted five free online webinars on timely and important societal topics: the future of higher education, the roots of the policing crisis, the future of Broadway and musical theatre, an conversation between Judy Woodruff and Max Stier on government, and a program on the November election. All five webinars were well attended and well received, and they helped us boost the National Institute’s reach and recognition substantially.
The online Gold Medal Gala, honoring Max Stier of the Partnership for Public Service, Darren Walker of the Ford Foundation, and Judy Woodruff of PBS NewsHour, was very well received by its attendees, notwithstanding a few technical challenges! Ticket purchases and donations for the event raised substantial funds for the Institute’s ongoing operations and our grant-making activities.
Finally, our Grants Committee remained active throughout the year, sponsoring programs with our cousin organizations the American Historical Association and the American Anthropological Association as well as awarding the 2020 Dissertation Grant competition to PhD candidate Gabriel Raeburn of the University of Pennsylvania.
The Board of Trustees—including the new and returning Trustees elected at our recent Annual Meeting of Members—is already busy discussing and planning our activities for 2021. Given the progress of the pandemic and associated vaccination efforts, we currently anticipate events will likely remain virtual for at least the first half of the year. Nevertheless, we are looking carefully at opportunities to resume our in-person gatherings once they can be conducted safely. It is hard to toast each other’s health over Zoom!
Thank you to one and all for all your interest and support during this difficult year. I invite you to click on the links above or visit our website to review what we have done and stay informed about what we are planning.
As 2020 recedes in the rearview mirror, I kindly request that you to continue to support our mission by clicking on the Donate button above. We also welcome you to join us as a Member and get more involved in our important work. Please feel free to contact me or any other of our Trustees and Officers to learn more.
In the meantime, please continue to stay safe and healthy. I wish all of you and your families and friends a wonderful and happy New Year!
Sincerely,
Fred Larsen
President, Board of Trustees