NATCA Charitable Foundation (NCF)
Current Campaigns/Events
Welcome to NCF!
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 unfunded or are missed through typical donor drives. We seek out organizations that help the underserved. 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.
View our 2021 Charities by State
Alaska
Alaska Rural Veterinary Outreach
Women in Safe Homes
Fisher House – JBER
Food Bank of Alaska
Alaska State Elks Association (ASEA)
Eagle River Boys and Girls Club of Alaska
Alabama
Flags of Honor Corporation
Arkansas
Humane Society of Pulaski County
Arizona
Empowerment Through Sports
PetFinder Foundation
California
School on Wheels
Shelter to Soldier
Los Angeles LGBT Center
Warrior Foundation Freedom Station
River Oak Center for Children
Hugs and Bags
Colorado
St. Vrain School System
Project Sanctuary
Audrey’s Great Strides to Benefit Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
Connecticut
Our Companions Animal Sanctuary
Delaware
Food Bank of Delaware
Florida
Hubbard House
Angel Flight SE
Family Resources
Fish with a Hero
Foar from Home
Jacksonville Icemen Foundation
Stone Lakes Elementary PTA
Georgia
Coco’s Cupboard
Charlie Bates Solar Astronomy Project/Sunlit Earth
Guam
Fisher House – TAMC
Hawaii
Kapiolani Health Foundation
Institute for Human Services
Iowa
Muddy Paws Second Chance Rescue
Idaho
Idaho Humane Society
Illinois
Honor Flight
Dare2Tri Paratriathlon Club
BraveHearts – Veterans Program
Indiana
Boy Scout Troop 22 Hog Roast
Angels Anonymous of IN
Special Olympics of Indiana
Little Red Door Cancer Agency
Kansas
Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing
Kids TLC
Louisiana
Desormeaux Foundation
Faith House
Hearts of Hope
Massachusetts
Catie’s Closet
American Heart Association
Good Sports
Maryland
Rural Dog Rescue
Team River Runner
Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Great Strides
Maine
Camp Sunshine
Michigan
Operation Good Cheer
Maggie’s Wigs 4 Kids of Michigan
Minnesota
National Ataxia Foundation
360 Communities
For the Love of Pete
Ten Thousand Books
Finnegans Community Fund
ZMP Childcare Board
Minnesota Aviation and Career Exploration Camp
Children’s Defense Fund Minnesota – Beat the Odds
Missouri
The German St Vincent Orphan Association
Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing
Montana
Camp Mak-A-Dream
North Carolina
CROSSED – The Youth Law Center
The Bicycle Man Outreach Project
Victory Junction
First Ward
Friends of Hamlet
Crossnore Communities for Children
Gold Star Teen Adventures
Nebraska
Together Omaha
Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing
New Hampshire
Federal Employees Childcare of Nashua
End 68 Hours of Hunger
Nashua Soup Kitchen & Shelter
Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
Nashua Children’s Home
Forgotten Angels Shelter
Family Promise of Greater Nashua at Anne Marie House
New Jersey
Just One Neighborhood Program
Big Brothers/Big Sisters Independence Region
New Mexico
New Mexico Veterans Integration Center
Nevada
Three Square
Project 150
Nevada Childhood Cancer Foundation
Nature Conservancy
New York
Branches Long Island Food Pantry
Lustgarten Foundation
National Hemophilia Foundation
Force Blue
New Alternatives for LGBT Homeless Youth
The Butterfly Effect Project
The Brain and Behavior Research Center
Ohio
Toys for Tots
Sylvania Youth Hockey
Neighborhood Alliance
Downs on the Farm
Oklahoma
Challenge Air
A New Leaf
Oregon
The Pixie Project
Schoolhouse Supplies
Portland Homeless Family Solutions
All Kids are Scientists – ImpactNW
Pennsylvania
Friends of Glen Providence Park
Toys for Tots
Big Brothers/Big Sisters Independence Region
Alpha Bravo Canine
Cuddle Me Program
Flying Fur Rescue
Puerto Rico
Hogar Cuna San Cristóbal
Fundacion Golitos
Rhode Island
Operation Stand Down Rhode Island
South Carolina
Wings for Kids
Justin Pepper House
Tennessee
Forrest Spence Fund 5K
The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee
Texas
BEAR – Be A Resource for CPS Kids
Kids Matter International
6 Stones
El Paso Children’s Foundation
Putt Cancer in its Place
Multiple Sclerosis Foundation
Orange Out
National Ovarian Cancer Coalition
Lone Survivor
Desert Downs BMX After School Program
Riding Unlimited
Houston Food Bank
Boot Campaign
Virginia
The Doorways
The Laurel Center of Winchester
GRIP – Guidance Resources for Independent People
Vermont
Heart of Winooski Foundation
Washington
Leap for Lupus
The Jonah Project
Ronald McDonald House
Amara
Northport American Legion
The Store House
Communities in Schools of Washington State
Wisconsin
Fellow Mortals
Manitowoc WI Salvation Army
Washington D.C.
USASOA
Salvation Army Alexandria Citadel Corps
Community of Hope
National
Kidpower International
Susan G. Komen Foundation
World Central Kitchen
Backpack Programs
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
California
Colorado
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Indiana
Kansas
Kentucky
Maine
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Nevada
New Jersey
New York
New York
North Carolina
Ohio
Oregon
South Carolina
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Washington
Washington, D.C.
Holiday Programs
Arizona
California
Florida
Hawaii
Indiana
Louisiana
Michigan
Minnesota
Missouri
New Hampshire
New York
North Carolina
Ohio
Oregon
Pennsylvania
South Carolina
Texas
Washington
Washington, D.C.
Our 2021 Premier Sponsors
Sponsorship Levels: Diamond Sponsor – $5,000 | Platinum Sponsor – $3,000 | Gold Sponsor- $2,500 | Silver Sponsor – $1,500 | Bronze Sponsor – $750
Diamond Sponsors
Leidos
Minneapolis ARTCC – ZMP
Boston ARTCC – ZBW
Washington ARTCC – ZDC
Miami ARTCC – ZMA
Platinum Sponsors
John and Illeana Olinger
Kristen Laubach
The Rhodes Family
Kansas City ARTCC – ZKC
SkyOne Federal Credit Union
Andrew and Anna LeBovidge
Butch and Betty Cooper
John and Andrea Orr
New York TRACON – N90
New York ARTCC – ZNY
Fort Worth ARTCC – ZFW
Houston ARTCC – ZHU
Our Silver Sponsors
Jeffery and Yevette Woods
David Romano
Brad and Kristena Starkey
New Bedford Panoramex
Spokane ATCT/TRACON – GEG
Denver ARTCC – ZDV
Seattle ARTCC – ZSE
Miami ATCT – MIA
Region X ENE
Kim Beckett
Scott and Dina Earl
Corrie Conrad
Oakland ARTCC – ZOA
John and Trish Gilbert
Our Bronze Sponsors
Paul and Debra Rinaldi
Professional Women Controllers
Duluth ATCT/TRACON – DLH
Milwaukee ATCT – MKE
John F. Kennedy ATCT – JFK
Dallas Fort Worth ATCT – DFW
Jeremy Wacker
Jimmy and Miriam Clouse
Natalie Foster
Matthew and Peach Baugh
Dion Johnson
Kyle McHugh
Ashley and Annie Olsen
Jason Boyde
Travis Weber
Lisa and Ray Fulford
Jason Arnold
Devin Carlisto
Joshua Hollands
Randy Moore
Trevor Barry
Aaron McCrea
John and Erin Murdock
Betsy Beaumont
Host a Charitable Event!
Through individual donations and fundraising, the NCF has funded a variety of projects and programs in our continued mission to assist and benefit the underserved of the communities in which we live. Follow the link provided below 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
Andrew LeBovidge
Elisa Muise
Andrea Orr
Officers:
Corrie Conrad – President
Betsy Beaumont – Vice President
Kristen Laubach – Secretary
Krissy Lewandowski – Treasurer
Events Committee:
Jason Boyde – Chairman
Kimberly Beckett
Kaitlynn Cornett
Kristen Lewandowski
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.
News
NCF
Support LGBTQ+ Community with NCF Pride Month T-Shirt
May 9, 2022
Support LGBTQ+ Community with NCF Pride Month T-Shirt
Apr 25, 2022
NATCA Charitable Supports Locals’ Holiday Donations
Jan 20, 2022
NCF 2nd Annual Step Challenge Open Through Feb. 16
Jan 18, 2022
NCF Seeking Member for its Board of Directors
Jan 14, 2022
Convention Spotlight: NATCA Charitable Foundation
Dec 6, 2021
Corporate Office:
NATCA National Office
Attn: NCF
1325 Massachusetts Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20005
(202) 220-9831
natcacharitable@natca.net