In 2014, at the IGS Council meeting in Berlin, Jacques Cote proposed the creation of a foundation to support the initiatives of the IGS. At that time, the proposal was very strongly supported by Dr. Jorge Zornberg and others members of the IGS Council. Jacques was assigned the task of researching the issue, investigating and returning to the IGS Council with a recommendation. As the IGS is a global organization, the creation of a supporting Foundation was complex. At the IGS Council meeting in Morocco in 2017 the item was again discussed and an IGS Task Force was appointed. With Jacques Cote’s leadership the task group of Jacques, Boyd Ramsey and Ian Fraser began organizational activities. These three were joined in 2019 by Drs. Jorge Zornberg and Fumio Tatsuoka, and these five gentlemen comprised the first Board of Trustees of the IGS Foundation. The Foundation was formally created on June 19, 2019 when documentation was filed with the State of Florida, establishing the IGS Foundation as a 501(c) 3 tax exempt charitable corporation. The (partial) Board of Trustees met officially for the first time on August 2, 2019 with the first Board of Trustees meeting with the full five-member board meeting occurring on September 8, 2019. The Board continues to meet on a regular basis. This board membership slate was again selected by the IGS Council for a second (annual) term and will remain in place until the end of 2021.
The initial contributors to the IGS Foundation should also be remembered and noted. Sam Allen and TRI Environmental were the initial corporate contributor and Clifford Gundle was the first individual contributor to the Foundation. These initial contributions, along with other Founding Donors, allowed the Foundation to begin operations and assured that the Foundation would properly “launch”. All of our donors are appreciated, but the initial efforts should be particularly recognized.
The Foundation continues it’s efforts. This is only a brief history of the initial creation. Please stay in touch with the Foundation, through this website and additional contacts with the Foundation Board of Trustees. Join us – we appreciate your support.
