AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2011 - 56

One Strong
IDENTITY
A
ddressing challenges to general
aviation requires money. The
AOPA Foundation is AOPA’s 501(c)
(3) charitable organization. Money raised
by the AOPA Foundation is tax-deductible
and goes to support safety, education,
and research programs. The AOPA Foundation
focuses its efforts specifically on
four areas that members have identified
as critical to GA’s future: protecting
airports, restoring the pilot population,
improving the image of general aviation,
and enhancing GA safety.
To provide a unified brand identity
and improve administrative efficiency,
the AOPA Foundation merged with the
AOPA Air Safety Foundation in October
2010. The former ASF is now the Air
Safety Institute, a division of the AOPA
Foundation; it provides all of the excellent
safety information and products that
ASF did—and continues to innovate with
new offerings.
In 2010 the AOPA Air Safety Founda-
tion and the AOPA Foundation provided
$4.5 million in funding for safety and
education programs; $400,000 for
research and other support to help grow
the pilot population; and $370,000 for
projects that help to improve the image of
GA. In addition to the Air Safety Institute’s
full line of safety education programs,
funding plans this year include research
and events to promote pilot-population
growth; economic impact studies of
general aviation airports to estimate the
economic and demographic footprint of general aviation, and to
examine what GA has added to the economy; and presentations
to community groups, decision makers, media, and the general
public about the importance of general aviation.
The AOPA Foundation increased its combined net assets by
13 percent in 2010. New initiatives include the “Friends of GA”
monthly giving program and “A Night for Flight,” a benefit and
online auction held in conjunction with AOPA Aviation Summit.
The Air Safety Institute proudly continues its predecessor’s tra-
dition of producing targeted, effective safety information for all
pilots. In 2010 ASI produced two live safety seminars, “Ten Things
Other Pilots Do Wrong” and “Real World IFR,” as well as five
online courses—including ASI’s landmark Flight Risk Evaluator.
By simply entering information into this interactive online tool,
a pilot can receive invaluable assistance in objectively evaluating
the risk of a proposed flight, a key part of any go/no-go decision.
The institute also conducted six online webinars; produced 24
safety quizzes; and distributed a quarterly newsletter, CFI to CFI,
in print and electronically to 90,000 flight instructors. In addition,
ASI joined forces with the Palo Alto Airport Authority to present a
one-time safety seminar in Palo Alto, California, to help mitigate
unwanted negative perception of GA after a Cessna 310 crashed
there in February 2010.
Those important safety-education messages reached pilots
more than 1 million times, a three-percent increase over 2009. ASI
set a new record with more than 475,000 course completions, a
13-percent increase, and the webinars drew nearly 13,000 participants.
For 2011, ASI plans to introduce 10 online courses, two live
safety seminars, eight webinars, and 24 safety quizzes, among other
initiatives. In addition to those core products, ASI is working on
several exciting new products that will diversify its safety education
portfolio. It’s important that we also explore new ways of communicating
our safety message.
Bruce Landsberg
President, AOPA Foundation
ASF BECOMES ASI
AOPA PILOT • 56 • MAY 2011
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2011

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