NATCA Charitable Foundation (NCF)
NCF Announces its Volunteer of the Year Award Winner, Kim Beckett
The NATCA Charitable Foundation (NCF) was founded Aug. 15, 1994, by a small group of dedicated volunteers in Fort Worth, Texas. They had a passion for helping others and making a difference to those in need. Nearly three decades later, that vision lives on. NCF could not do this amazing accomplishment alone.
The Cathy Meachum NCF Volunteer of the Year Award recognizes someone each year that embodies everything the charity represents. NCF is a volunteer army, and this award recognizes a volunteer who goes above and beyond for NCF throughout the year.
“When the NCF Board met last year, there was no question who was deserving of this award,” said NCF Chair Corrie Conrad. “This individual shows up at the beginning of an event and is one of the last to leave. She consistently asks, ‘What can I do? Is there anything else that needs to be done? Does anyone need help?’ She works tirelessly with a ridiculous work ethic, while constantly making us laugh. Her infectious laugh can be heard across the ballroom at events. She reminds us that even when we are exhausted, there’s always time to smile. She has a heart of gold with concern for the success of this charity. She is always focused on how we can be better and how NCF can leave a positive print on our world. We are blessed to have this amazing woman volunteering her time, energy, and passion, to further the cause of NCF, making a difference.
“It is with great pleasure that we recognize Portland TRACON (P80) member Kim Beckett as NCF’s Volunteer of the Year. Congratulations Kim!”
Pushing Up, Pushing Forward: NCF ’25 for 25′ Fundraising Campaign Raises More Than $88,000; Benefits Suicide Prevention Organization
This year has been challenging for the NATCA Charitable Foundation (NCF). The pandemic delayed plans for NATCA in Washington, the Biennial Convention, and Communicating For Safety until 2021, so opportunities to raise money were limited. But thanks to NCF leaders’ creativity and hard work – and our generous members once again stepping up to answer calls for need – the recent 25 for 25 pushup campaign became the most successful fundraising effort in NCF’s 26-year history.
The three-month campaign raised $88,257 to support NCF and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), one of the four charities benefitting from our 18th Biennial Convention in Houston which is now scheduled for May 25-27, 2021. That is nearly double the previous record amount raised, $47,878, at the 16th Biennial Convention in San Diego in 2016.
“During a Convention year, NCF typically raises approximately $100,000 over the three NATCA events,” said NCF President Corrie Conrad (Portland, Ore., ATCT, PDX). “NATCA members, family, friends, and corporate partners came together to raise a record amount of money for the NCF and AFSP in a virtual pushup challenge. It was inspiring to see so many of us come together for two great charities while raising awareness for suicide prevention.”
Welcome to NATCA Charitable Foundation!
The NATCA Charitable Foundation (NCF) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation that works to make a difference in the lives of many. NCF has no paid employees and continues to be a 100% volunteer organization of all ages and professions. This keeps costs down and helps ensure donations make a difference to those most in need. NCF’s philanthropic efforts stretch across the country. NCF seeks out areas of need that go un-funded or are missed through other donor drives. It seeks out smaller charities that help the underserved in the communities where NATCA members live and work. Across the country, through NCF, NATCA members and their family and friends give and volunteer to make a big impact and help bring smiles to those in need. Find out more about us and Help us make a difference and donate today!
Our Programs
NCF to seek out areas of need that go un-funded or are missed through typical donor drives. We seek out organizations that help the under-served. Across the country, NATCA members, friends, and family volunteer to help bring smiles to those in need. Please contact us with any questions about our programs.
Sponsors
Sponsorship Levels: Platinum Sponsor – $3,000 | Gold Sponsor- $2,500 | Silver Sponsor – $1,500 | Bronze Sponsor – $750
Host a Charitable Event!
Through individual donations and fund raising, the NCF has funded a variety of projects and programs in our continued mission to assist and benefit the under-served of the communities in which we live. Follow the link provided above for the request form for Marathons, Runs, Concerts, and other Event Sponsorships. We appreciate your suggestions and review each request received.
About NCF
Who We Are
NCF – Get to know us!
The NATCA Charitable Foundation thrives on seeking out areas of need that go un-funded or are missed through typical donor drives. We seek out organizations that serve a similar purpose, to help the under-served. Across the country, one program at a time, NATCA members, friends and family all volunteer to help bring smiles to children and adults in need. Our programs vary from year to year. This link reflects a list of our most current programs. The smiles and cheers from the many we assist make any number of volunteer hours a worthy endeavor. Please contact us with any questions about current or new programs. We love to hear from our supporters as we continue to make every dollar count!
Executive Board/NCF Team
Directors:
Kimberly Beckett
Jason Boyde
Trish Gilbert
Bob Hill
Elisa Muise
Officers:
Corrie Conrad – President
Robin Hill – Vice President
Kristen Laubach – Secretary
Betsy Beaumont – Treasurer
Events Committee:
Jason Boyde – Chairman
Jackie Babenco
Kimberly Beckett
Kaitlynn Cornett
Kristen Lewandowski
Scott Nagy
Victoria Taggio
**Please email NATCA Charitable at natcacharitable@natca.net for any questions regarding financial information.**
History
In August 1994, Darrell Meachum, a Fort Worth Center controller, hoped to pool the efforts of many NATCA locals that ran charity fundraisers and bring recognition to the air traffic control profession. His wife Cathy, a dental hygienist with a background running auctions for the American Cancer Society, shared his passion.
Their solution? Form an organization that highlighted the incredible charitable work air traffic controllers were already doing and give them an avenue to expand. They called it the NATCA Charitable Foundation (NCF). Originally incorporated in Texas, the organization expanded to Florida in 2001, and to Georgia the next year. The long-term goal was to make it a nationwide entity, but in measured steps to prevent a good idea from “crumbling under its own weight due to poor implementation,” said Darrell, who also served as NATCA’s Southwest Regional Vice President from 2003-09.
That type of far-flung expansion is something some never imagined possible when he envisioned the foundation, but just six years after its creation, the foundation raised more than $17,000 at the 2000 Biennial Convention in Anchorage. As NCF President, Cathy Meachum would go on to mentor Elena Nash, who served as NCF President from 2011-2017, only recently passing the baton this year to new NCF President Corrie Conrad.
NCF quickly became a success and NATCA officially recognized Cathy’s ongoing efforts with an honorary lifetime membership. It was the first time NATCA bestowed the tribute on someone wholly outside the air traffic control profession. Cathy, who’d been an associate member for 7 years, was in shock, saying it is an honor beyond expression.
“They’re amazed at how far we’ve come and how much we’ve accomplished,” Cathy Meachum said. “They didn’t think it was feasible to get a bunch of people to do all this work by volunteers only.”
The absence of paid staff members enables NCF to donate nearly 96 percent of the money it raises. In the 1990s, a core group of about 20 volunteers ran the organization, including satellite offices in Houston, Texas, Jacksonville, Fla., and Peachtree City, Ga. In 2001, the foundation gave $43,000 to more than two-dozen charities and families across the country. NCF income has grown steadily since then — with a total of $153,575 in charitable donations by the end of 2001 to $200,000 of charitable donations in 2016 — focusing on areas that aren’t being met by other charities.
For the Meachums, giving back to their communities was always the driving force behind everything they did.
Shortly before Christmas 2000, Darrell Meachum and a colleague hefted a dilapidated table up a flight of stairs to a two-bedroom apartment in a low-income suburb northeast of Fort Worth, Texas. Cathy and their volunteer helper had driven 40 miles to retrieve the item from the donor’s outdoor porch. Its weather-beaten condition made them shake their heads in dismay. Grime covered the white Formica top and splotches of rust were corroding the metal trim and legs.
It belonged in a dump.
But the trio did their best to wipe off the dirt before setting out to deliver it to a single mother and her three young boys. They were one of several families “adopted” that holiday season by the NATCA Charitable Foundation, a tradition that continues today at many facilities across the country.
While maneuvering the table into the apartment, they noticed that the only furniture outside the bedrooms consisted of a shabby couch and a small television sitting atop a nightstand. They made three more trips to lug in a donated microwave, pots and pans, a laundry basket full of toiletries, and two armloads of holiday gifts — under the ecstatic gazes of the youngsters and their mother.
As soon as the table and four vinyl-padded chairs were positioned in front of a window near the kitchen, the boys jumped onto their newfound seats. Beaming, they set their hands on the table as if holding forks and knives.
“Look, ma, a table,” they exclaimed.
“Can we have a meal at our table?”
The mother was speechless.
Such scenes are one of the most rewarding aspects of the NATCA Charitable Foundation. Cathy Meachum said recipients “inevitably are crying because they’re so happy and we’re just beside ourselves.”
NCF has always put in a lot of effort in choosing which charities to support, hoping to make the biggest impact. A Dallas-area shelter for abused women, which regularly needs undergarments, towels, and art supplies for children, who often use creative outlets to deal with their emotional trauma was an early beneficiary of those efforts. NCF also favors helping children who are disadvantaged, disabled, and terminally ill, along with national charities such as the American Heart Association, Cystic Fibrosis Association, and Habitat for Humanity.
Visiting terminally ill children and disadvantaged people surviving on the edge of poverty can be uncomfortable, Darrell Meachum said. But, he adds, “You know that you’ve done something for the good of the community and that you’ve given something back in the name of your profession and your union.”
Cathy Meachum noted that persuading detail-oriented controllers to donate is sometimes a challenge.
“They want to know the full picture before they commit to anything,” she said. “But once they see it, they jump in full body. They are overwhelmingly generous.”
From its humble beginning, the Meachum’s legacy continues to be felt and honored today, with NCF naming it’s annual Volunteer of the Year Award after Cathy, awarded at Communicating For Safety every year.
NCF is a non profit 501(c)(3) Corporation with supporters and programs across the country. Today, it continues to be a 100 percent volunteer organization with volunteers of all ages and professions. They are proud that their operating expense ratio has remained below five percent since being established in 1998.
