AAPD Foundation and the Dental Trade Alliance Announce Shared Grant

The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry Foundation (AAPD Foundation) is proud to announce a new grant partnership with the Dental Trade Alliance (DTA). Each organization has committed $75,000 to Kids’ Community Dental Clinic of Burbank, CA (KCDC) to fund a pilot project designed to provide oral health education, dental screenings, and referral options for patients from low-income families. The announcement was made at the Dental Trade Alliance (DTA) 2022 Annual Meeting in San Diego, CA in November. 

A previous AAPD Foundation grantee, KCDC’s unique approach to dental care throughout pandemic-related restrictions, including drive-thru screenings and fluoride application for both parents and children within a family, was the genesis for this new partnership. 

Goals for this new initiative include gathering empirical data to deter-mine if parents who have access to dental care are more likely to ensure dental care for their children as well as to begin healthy habits and regular dentist visits at a younger age. 

We are proud of our grantees across the country who make a difference in the lives of kids in need by thinking out of the box to ensure access to dental care, and excited that, thanks to the generous support of donors like you, we have the opportunity to forge new partnerships like those with the DTA Foundation. So much more is possible with collaboration. 

Grateful for Your Generosity

While the turkey and football games may be behind us, we’re continuing to say our thanks for a successful AAPD Foundation Giving Tuesday campaign.  

Your generosity is an inspiration! Final totals are still being tallied, but early calculations give us hope to believe that because of your support, we will achieve our goal of $300K to support access to care programs and services. That target may be modest compared to other nonprofits, but any gift is priceless to the recipients of our grants and the nearly 1 million children in their care. 

The opportunities to give don’t stop now that Giving Tuesday is behind us. There are many ways to show your support for the AAPD Foundation’s work. You can make a one-time gift online, you can contact us about establishing a major gift pledge, or drop us a note letting us know you have included the Foundation in your estate planning. 

Why not tell the world about your passion for kid’s oral health? Host a social media fundraiser by using the AAPD Foundation website link directly in your Facebook feed and asking your friends to credit their gift to you in the comments section of the donation page. It’s easy!  

Copy your browser link and add it to a post or video on your favorite social media platform telling your friends why you support the AAPD Foundation, and asking them to match your donation before the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve. Don’t forget to tag the AAPD Foundation and to “like” and share. Spreading the word about the Foundation and its good work is a great way to show your support. 

However you prefer to give, a year-end gift is a great way to show your Big Love for Little Teeth by helping to ensure that every kid has access to the dental care they need, regardless of the adults in their lives ability to pay for services. 

The AAPD Foundation is the charitable arm of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD, the nation’s leading association of dental specialists committed to optimal oral health for all children). The Foundation is a separate nonprofit that does not derive sustaining support from the Academy, and has no affiliation with the PAC. Instead, the bulk of Foundation support comes directly from wonderful people like you. 

If you have given to the AAPD Foundation before, thank you. We hope that you will consider supporting our work again in the New Year.  

If you have yet to partner with the AAPD Foundation in its mission of providing access to dental care for kids, please join us by making your first gift. When you support the AAPD Foundation, 100 percent of your gift benefits children by providing critical funding for com- munity-based initiatives delivering dental care to children from families that cannot afford services. 

Since 2010, The AAPD Foundation has awarded nearly $8 million in grants to 153 organizations in 36 states and the District of Columbia. Thanks to you, Foundation grantees have provided essential dental services to more than 700,000 children.

On behalf of the kids whose smiles are healthier because of your generosity, and the thousands more the AAPD Foundation aims to help, thank you! We are grateful for you! 

From the President

What a year it has been for the AAPD Foundation! In 2022, the Foundation resumed a full engagement and outreach strategy focused on prospective and past donors, returning to in-per- son meetings as pandemic-related mandates eased. It has been wonderful to visit with supporter’s in-person again and to solidify connections from across the room rather than by Zoom. 

Through deliberate development efforts, the AAPD Foundation gained 263 new donors and successfully reacquired 300 donors. We are also thankful to have 359 donors that have consistently donated to the Foundation for the past five years. These gifts have made it possible for the AAPD Foundation to assist nearly 45,000 children in need in 2022. 

Looking ahead to 2023, our hopes are to build upon the gains of 2022 and continue to increase access to care for all kids. We are excited to expand the AAPD Foundation’s philanthropy programs, specifical- ly in the areas of AAPD membership and employee giving. 

If you have supported the AAPD Foundation in 2022, THANK YOU for choosing to ensure access to oral health care for children in communities throughout the United States. If you have yet to make a gift, the holiday season is a great time to give the gift of a Dental Home for all kids. 

Even the smallest amounts add up. A great way to make a contribution is by shopping through Amazon Smile. Designate the AAPD Foundation as your chosen charity when you shop at smile.amazon.com and Amazon will donate a percentage of your purchase to help ensure that kids have the access to pediatric dental care they need. 

Thank you again for your generous support of children’s oral health and the AAPD Foundation. Happiest of holidays to you and yours, and best wishes for a healthy and prosperous New Year! 

With warmest regards,
Douglas B. Keck, DMD, MSHED
President
AAPD Foundation