With 2022 in full swing, we are excited to share our strategic plan for the year ahead. Upon reflection, a silver lining in the COVID-19 pandemic is that it was an opportunity to carefully reexamine our organization’s current capital and digital needs. We believe that seizing this opportunity is crucial to sustaining our organization for the next 75 years.

Over the past two school years, IKEducation programs were offered virtually and we had overwhelming participation from teachers across the United States. The expansion of IKEducation programs in a postpandemic world will require a space to safely and effectively educate more K-12 students both in-person and remotely. As a result, a dedicated space, with state-of-theart digital technology, will be necessary to meet the needs of educators and students.

In addition to IKEducation’s needs, our staff has fully outgrown our current office space of 1,200 square feet. It can no longer logistically accommodate shared offices for seven full-time and eight part-time staff members.

To meet both of these needs, the Eisenhower Foundation anticipates building a dedicated space within the next five years.

It is in this context that we are pleased to announce a $225,000 gift from Mr. Robert Tointon, Greeley, Colorado. This exploratory gift, in memory of his wife, Betty, has provided our staff and board the opportunity to visit best-practice educational facilities to help imagine our space and technology needs.

In addition, the gift has allowed us to engage renowned architect Gould Evans, Kansas City, to help us conceptualize the space. We look forward to sharing the concept with you when it is available.

It takes a philanthropist with true vision to fund a rare exploratory gift such as this. We are truly grateful to Mr. Tointon for not only his trust in our work, but also for providing the seed gift to chart the path forward.