The Natural Refrigeration

IIAR’s Natural Refrigeration Foundation unveiled a new fundraising effort intended to make the foundation financially secure as it funds scholarships and industry research into the next decade and beyond.

The foundation said the new Legacy 100 Fund will be built by contributions of $100,000-each to induct 100 leaders of the refrigeration industry into the Club.

The commitment can be funded by an individual, a company, or a foundation in the name of an individual. The named and honored individual will become a Legacy 100 Club member.

In an informational fact sheet about the club, NRF said “many individuals who have made a lasting impact on our industry would be honored by a gift in their name. In fact, this program is designed to specifically honor those individuals. Individuals, companies, or foundations may raise $100,000 and donate it on behalf of the individual they wish to honor.”

NRF chairman, Mike McGinnis, said the Legacy 100 Club was created in recognition of the many industry leaders and innovators who have made significant contributions that have shaped or are currently shaping the natural refrigeration industry today.

“We want to recognize all the people who have helped natural refrigerants in our journey to date,” said McGinnis. “The Legacy 100 Club is here to recognize our past and name the people who have shaped our industry as we know it today, from our founding until now.”

Each inductee to the Legacy 100 Club will represent an impactful contribution to the advancement of natural refrigerants, said Mike Chapman, IIAR’s Vice President of Operations. “This is a chance for us to collectively name and acknowledge individuals for their contributions to our industry so that everyone is aware of the history of contributions that have helped to shape what our industry has become today.”

Chapman said each inductee’s contributions will be showcased with a video biography posted on the NRF website along with information regarding their contributions to the natural refrigeration industry.

According to NRF, Club members may elect to receive a lifetime appointment to the NRF Board of Trustees who serve as an advisory body to the NRF Board of Directors.

The foundation said other recognition opportunities may eventually be a part of the IIAR annual conference, where the conference may showcase inductees at the annual business meeting, in signage throughout the venue and at special NRF events such as the NRF Lounge.

Club members or their funding rganizations also receive satisfaction in continuing the legacy of each club member through the funding that will help sustain the advancement of natural refrigerants by creating further educational programs, scholarships and conducting necessary research on the use of natural refrigerants, according to the NRF.

IIAR’s Chapman said the Legacy 100 Club is a key program for NRF, which hopes to increase the sustainability of its fundraising as an investment in the future talent of the industry through scholarships and the advancement of its science through research.

“Our intent is that we leverage these contributions to create a fund that is selfsustaining so we can maintain our research and education programs indefinitely,” he said. “A big part of investing in our future is our ability to award scholarships annually to recruit skilled and talented students into the natural refrigeration industry. It’s exciting that we get to do that by using these incredible stories of our past to invest in our future.”

Meanwhile, said NRF’s McGinnis, The Legacy 100 Club will play a vital role in supporting research.

“Research is critical to our industry, so having a way to fund these projects is so important,” he said.

“This fundraising effort is critical to our organization’s success. Without these research projects, we wouldn’t be able to be as credible to the regulators that we’re collaborating with – as we are. That’s a big reason why this effort is so important.”collaborating with – as we are. That’s a big reason why this effort is so important.”