American Association of Orthodontists Foundation Receives One of the Largest Gifts in Its History

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Posted: April 15, 2014
A significant gift has been granted to the American Association of Orthodontists Foundation (AAOF), the charitable arm of the American Association of Orthodontists (AAO), and will go to further education and research in the field of orthodontics. One of the largest gifts in the AAOF history, the $500,000 gift is named the Martin “Bud” Schulman Post-doctoral Fellowship Award.  The gift was made by the Schulman Study Group, one of the largest orthodontic study groups in the United States and Canada.  The funds will be donated by individual members of the group.  
 
The gift, which is designated specifically for research, will fund the highly prestigious and competitive AAOF’s Post-doctoral Fellowship Award.  The funds will be used to underwrite orthodontic research conducted in graduate schools across the U.S. and Canada.  “We expect that, over time, many of those who receive this award will become some of the most widely recognized and respected researchers and educators within our specialty,” said Robert Bray, DDS, MS and a Schulman Study Group member who helped organize the gift.  “Many of our students who receive these awards go on to receive National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding, which ultimately benefits the orthodontic specialty, its practitioners, and most importantly, the patients we serve.”
 
Normally, large gifts are named after doctors or researchers, but the Schulman Study Group chose another path in the naming of this award.  Martin “Bud” Schulman, CPA (1920-2008), was the founder of the Schulman Group.  While not a doctor, Schulman dedicated his business consultancy to helping orthodontists and other dental professionals streamline their business operations in order to deliver more effective patient care. “Bud realized that orthodontists have a unique relationship with patients because treatment generally lasts several years and there is time to build a positive relationship,” says Ronald Redmond, DDS, MS, FACD and theCEO of the Schulman Study Group. “He saw early on that orthodontists were in a unique position to help young teenagers develop the self-confidence they need and he helped us structure our practices to become patient-centered.  Running an efficient practice gives orthodontists time to focus on patient quality of care. Thanks to Bud’s insights, many of our doctors are able find time to do pro-bono work for patients who can’t afford treatment, or give back to the community in other ways by teaching or volunteering in dental clinics.”
 
Study groups like the Schulman Study Group exist all over the world.  Their purpose is to help orthodontists network, share best practices, provide continuing education opportunities and explore new technologies affecting the profession. The Schulman Study Group is one of the largest in the country, with more than 100 members from the United States and Canada. “One of the most important characteristics of our group is that we are a community of givers,” says Dr. Redmond.  “In addition to our making this gift, nearly 100 percent of our members are also Keystone Society Members of the AAOF, which means they each have made a Continued Commitment to the Specialty® to include the AAOF in their personal estate plans.”   The Schulman group also places a high importance on integrating spouses into its activities, which include annual meetings. “Many of our spouses participate in our practices, whether professionally or in a supportive role, and we’ve come to realize the critical role they play in helping us be the best doctors we can.”  

“This is the largest single, first-time gift we have ever received, and the very first that has come   through our new Named Awards effort,” says Eric Nease, DDS, MDS and president of the AAOF.  “We are grateful to the Schulman Study Group for this generous contribution, and for being the first donor in this new undertaking. We hope it will inspire individuals, study groups and alumni associations to consider making such a legacy gift.” 
 
 
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