Inside Behavior Analysis
Volume 1 | 2009 | Number 2 | On-line ISSN: 2151-4704
A Letter From the SABA President
By William L. Heward
Each year an issue of the ABAI newsletter contains a pitch for donations to the Society for the Advancement of Behavior Analysis (SABA). As current SABA President (ABAI’s Past President automatically serves in that capacity), it’s my turn to ask you to donate some of your hard-earned money.
Being not at all sure of how to handle this assignment, I did what many 21st century writers with limited knowledge of their topic and a fast-approaching deadline do: I “researched it” on the Internet. Googling “how to donate to a good cause,” “charitable giving,” and a few other related phrases produced some interesting info from sites such as “Donating Do’s and Don’ts,” “Smart Charitable Giving,” and “Give to charity—but don’t be a sucker!” A brief summary of recommendations from those sources is included at the end of this article, but first let’s answer some basic questions about SABA.
What Is SABA?
SABA is a 501(c)(3) corporation devoted to the welfare and future of behavior analysis. SABA obtains and disburses private funds to support the advancement of and dissemination of behavior analysis. (501(c)(3) is IRS code for a type of non-profit organization exempt from some federal income taxes and to which donors’ contributions are tax deductible.)
Where Does SABA Get Its Money?
SABA’s funds come entirely from volunteer donations by individuals and organizations interested in supporting the advancement of behavior analysis. Nearly 300 ABAI members donate annually to SABA. If you would like to make a donation to SABA right now, visit us on the Web at:
http://www.abainternational.org/saba/donations.asp
The largest donation to date by far was made by Dr. Sidney Bijou and his wife Janet, who gave approximately $330,000 since 1996 to endow the Sidney W. and Janet R. Bijou Fellowship. Other major SABA donors in recent years include:
- 2009: Association for Behavior Analysis International - $3,000
- 2008: Berkshire Association - $5,198
- 2008: Greg Stikeleather - $2,198
- 2007: Greg Stikeleather - $2,177
- 2006: Greg Stikeleather - $3,168
- 2005: Kennedy Krieger Institute - $3,000
A list of all current SABA donors can be found at:
www.abainternational.org/saba/contribute/donors.asp
Who Decides What SABA Does with the Money It Obtains?
ABAI’s Executive Council (sans student representatives) serves as the SABA Board of Directors. With their votes for representatives to the ABAI Executive Council, ABAI members determine the decision makers who disperse SABA funds.
What Does SABA Do In Support of Behavior Analysis?
Contributions to SABA and the interest earned on donations support awards, grants, fellowships, and complimentary registrations for student presenters at ABAI’s annual convention. Read on to learn about each of SABA’s current programs.
SABA Awards
SABA Awards recognize significant contributions by leaders and pioneers in behavior analysis in the areas of research, application, dissemination, and education.
For the first time in 2010, SABA is accepting nominations for the new Award for Scientific Translation. This award may be made for either Impact of Science on Application or Technology Transfer. This award replaces the Award for Public Service in Behavior Analysis. The Award for Impact of Science on Application is for experimental or theoretical innovations in behavior analysis with significant impact on applications. The impact should be demonstrated, but the winner does not have to carry out the applications. The Award for Technology Transfer is given to an individual in the public or private sector, and who addresses socially significant problems using methods directly linked to behavior analysis or which effectively incorporate behavioral principles. This award may be given regardless of the terminology employed or the explanation offered by the person responsible for the applications. Nominees do not have to be members of ABAI.
Recommendations from ABA International members guide the SABA Board of Directors in identifying the recipient for each award. ABA International members are strongly encouraged to make recommendations (and provide rationale) for any or all of the SABA awards. A description of each award and an on-line nomination form can be found at: www.abainternational.org/saba/awards.asp
ABAI’s Annual Convention commences with the SABA Awards Ceremony, during which each SABA awardee presents an overview of his or her work. This public recognition and celebration of the accomplishments and contributions by leaders and pioneers in behavior analysis is one of the most highly attended events of the annual convention. SABA’s 2010 award recipients will be announced in January.
SABA Fellowships and Grants
SABA Fellowships and Grants provide financial support to students for research and to individuals working toward international development of behavior analysis. SABA’s longest running fellowship was endowed by Dr. Sidney Bijou and his wife Janet who donated approximately $330,000 since 1996 to fund the Sidney and Janet Bijou Fellowship. Their generosity has enabled SABA to award $95,000 to support the research of 19 young scholars. In honor of Dr. Bijou’s monumental contributions to both the science and practice of behavior analysis, each past recipient of the Sidney and Janet Bijou Fellowship and his or her university affiliation at the time of the award can be found here.
The 2010 SABA Fellowship recipients will be announced in January. We take a final opportunity to recognize the 2009 awardees:
Experimental Analysis of Behavior Fellowship
- Carlos Cançado (West Virginia University)
- Patrick Johnson (University of Kansas)
Doctoral Dissertation Grants
- Dianne Gaalema (Georgia Institute of Technology)
- Nigel Vahey (National University of Ireland, Maynooth)
Master’s Thesis Grants
- Charlotte Carp (Texas Christian University)
- Bess Puvathingal (Temple University)
The SABA 2009 International Development Grants will be awarded in December. We take a final opportunity to recognize awardees in 2008:
- Morgan Chitiyu (Southern Illinois University), to disseminate and promote the use of empirically validated educational and behavioral management practices to benefit vulnerable children in Zimbabwe.
- Mihyun Grace Cho (Namseoul University, South Korea), to educate teachers about proactive behavior management strategies and reduce the use of corporal punishment in Korean schools.
- Erick Dubuque (University of Nevada, Reno), to facilitate practical training in the first Master’s program in behavior analysis in the Middle East at the Jordan University of Science and Technology.
SABA Student Presenter Convention Registration Grants provides complimentary registrations to ABAI’s annual convention to student presenters. The student must be a primary presenter (presenting author, chair, or discussant) of a poster, paper address, panel discussion, or symposium. In 2009, 78 student presenters received a SABA Student Registration Grant for the annual convention in Phoenix.
Wise Charitable Giving Means Making an Informed Choice
Prior to my trip on the Internet to prepare for this article, I hadn’t thought of SABA as a charitable organization. But charity—the voluntary provision of money, materials, or help to people in need—is what SABA is all about. Behavioral researchers need money to purchase laboratory equipment and help with other costs of conducting experiments. Students of behavior analysis need money to help them go to school, conduct research, and attend ABAI’s Annual Convention. Behavior analysts around the world need money to support their efforts to disseminate information about our science. But it’s society in general who needs SABA’s help the most, for it is people of all walks of life who need the benefits that will accrue from the advancement and development of behavior analysis around the world.
The three guidelines that follow appeared frequently on Internet sites devoted to wise charitable giving.
Find out how much of your donation will go to the actual cause vs. paying the salaries of an executive director, administrative staff, and costs of fund raising.
Charitable fundraising is big business—many charities contract with fund raising companies to seek donations, the cost of that and administrative overhead means that as little as 5 or 10 cents on the dollar might actually go to the agency or people receiving help from the organization. No government regulations dictate the percentage of contributions that must go directly to a charity’s cause. The Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance’s guideline states that charitable groups should direct at least 65 cents of every dollar to its programs. Several sites state that “high quality charities” should give 75% of the money they receive to the actual cause. Because SABA has no paid employees and ABAI assumes its miniscule administrative costs, virtually 100% of donations go directly to programs.
Find out if your donation will be used to support a specific program or cause you believe in.
Most charitable organizations don’t allow donors to specify how their contributions will be used. Contributors to SABA can earmark their donations for a particular activity or issue. The most popular SABA program in terms of the number of donors is the Student Presenter Convention Registration Grant fund. My personal favorite is the Doctoral Dissertation and Master’s Thesis Grant Program that the SABA Board created two years ago to support student research in behavior analysis.
Don’t be pressured to donate; take time to decide.
The need will always be there. Make sure the organization
will always be there, too. SABA was established in 1980 and has a nearly 30-year track record. And while this article is making a pitch for you to give to SABA today, you can donate to SABA at any time, 365 days a year at:
www.abainternational.org/saba/donations.asp
A Good Start
Like the joke about a thousand (insert your favorite professional) at the bottom of the ocean, 300 annual donors to SABA is a good start. Imagine what could be accomplished if the number of annual SABA donors doubled to 600 and then doubled again. Is reaching 1,200 annual donors to SABA a pie-in-the-sky goal? If not, how many years will it take to get there? Reaching that number today would require donations from slightly fewer than one in four ABAI members. When you’re ready, please go to: www.abainternational.org/saba/donations.asp and make a donation to SABA.