Page 39 - 2020 IHSAA Annual Report

The IHSAA Foundation

It’s been said that

numbers don’t always

tell the whole story.

And as any avid high school sports fan will attest, the phrase is
basically true. A player who plays nose-to-nose defense, has a
great attitude and usually comes through in the clutch is often
more valuable to a basketball team than a player who has a
glossy scoring average.

Make no mistake about it. The IHSAA Foundation “numbers”
for the 2019-20 school year are solid. The total number of
donors is up; personal donations are up; the Foundation’s
donor retention rate is up; and donations from IHSAA
member-schools are up.

Even so, the only true way the IHSAA Foundation can
be measured is by the effect principled, ethically sound
decision-making can have on entire organizations and commu-
nities. That’s why the IHSAA Foundation’s real “numbers” for
the 2019-20 school year won’t be known until the student-
athletes benefitting from its programs become community
leaders who are making responsible, unselfish decisions.

The IHSAA Foundation has three original donors who have made a
contribution every fiscal year since its inception in the spring of 2016.
A heartfelt thank you goes to Bobby and Kathy Cox, Phil and Ann
Gardner and the Northwest Crossroads Conference (with a special
shout-out to Patti McCormick, athletic director at Lowell High School
and longtime IHSAA Executive Committee member).

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