AEROSPACE SCHOLARSHIP FOUNDATION -- NA REGION

In early 2023, HCAP NA member, Mark Tousey made a presentation to the NA Region board of directors to form a new US-based charitable foundation to offer scholarships to American and Canadian students. The Company has a long history of encouraging young people in the UK to embark on a career in aviation through providing scholarships for gliding, PPLs, and flight instructor training, but the NA Region has not yet had that provision.

The NA Region board approved the proposal and a few months later, the first board meeting was convened of the HCAP Aerospace Scholarship Foundation, Inc. (ASF), a US-based charity, comprised of Liveryman Peter Allen, Upper Freemen Dave White, Upper Freeman Lucy Young, and Liveryman Mark Tousey. The board of ASF is delighted to announce that the U.S. Internal Revenue Service approved the board’s application to become a 501(c)(3) organization in the spring of 2024.

The ASF board is busy establishing policies covering scholarship eligibility, approval processes, and governance, but armed with the IRS approval, the board is now pleased to open the foundation to donations from NA Region members.

The goal of the ASF is to begin granting scholarships of $5,000 each by early 2025. Over the next two years while funds build up, scholarships will be exclusively focused on those students who already have their commercial license or who will have completed it by the time the scholarship is paid out and who are working toward their ATPL or type ratings. This will maximise the benefit of the ASF to generate applicants who will soon be ready to apply for jobs in the industry. Once the ASF has more substantial assets, applicants for PPL, IR, and CPL training will be eligible to apply.

The promotion of the ASF will be made through regular announcements from the NA Region as well as through a group of Ambassador-advisors who are well established individuals in the aviation and aeronautical industries.

The scholarship foundation is initially focused on US charitable status, however, as the foundation is built and Canadian donors seek equivalent Canadian tax status, a Canadian foundation will be established to provide Canadian participants a similar tax status as their US colleagues.

HOW TO GIVE

All contributions are tax-deductible for US taxpayers. You may make a donation either via PayPal or by sending a US dollar check. All donations will be acknowledged with a receipt for tax purposes.

For PayPal, our account name is HCAP Aerospace Scholarship Foundation.

For US dollar checks made out to HCAP Aerospace Scholarship Foundation, Inc., you may send them to HCAP ASF, care of Dave White, 3409 Colt Drive, Plano TX, 75074-2827.

MATCHING DONATIONS

It is worthwhile checking if your employer offers a matching program whereby they will match your donation. We are aware that Boeing, Delta, United Technologies, Lockheed Martin, General Electric, Northrup Grumman, and Raytheon offer charitable donation matches at no additional cost to the donor.

ADDITIONAL WAYS NA REGION MEMBERS CAN SUPPORT ASF

There are three ways you can support the early stages of the ASF beyond your financial support:

1. Spread the word about the Foundation to colleagues and friends

2. Notify us of any grant making bodies that you know support education and aviation, and we would be happy either to follow up directly with them or by way of an introduction

3. Share your suggestions for candidates for ambassadors-advisors

This is an exciting development for the NA Region that will serve to broaden its renown and highlight its support for young pilots and the aviation sector in the US and Canada. The ASF board will be most grateful for your support. You may reach us at AirPilotsASF@gmail.com.