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I Believe in Iowa FFA

The Iowa FFA Association was established in 1929 by delegates from 23 schools to provide youth with personal and career development opportunities as they prepared for leadership roles and careers in the agriculture industry. Today, Iowa FFA students engage in a variety of agriculture-related curriculum, competitions and leadership programs. We reach beyond traditional agricultural education to provide students with a strong background in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) and ensure they will succeed in any aspect of the agriculture industry.

We are committed to empowering Iowa youth with the confidence and authority to create a better and sustainable world, while achieving our goal to effectively feed the earth’s 9 billion residents by 2050. The FFA Enrichment Center in Ankeny, Iowa, provides a home base and the inspiration and technology we need to work toward this goal.

“I think that FFA learned early on that the future is all about STEM. The STEM field is the fastest growing and so FFA prepares young people to have the skills and the leadership ability to take on challenges and build great careers.”

— Terry Branstad, U.S. Ambassador to China

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We believe our student members are capable of achieving these goals and more. We believe in Iowa FFA and investing in our future leaders.

There are 669,989 FFA members ages 12-21 in the United States.

The FFA Enrichment Center serves:• 15,600 Iowa FFA members

• 22,947 high school and middle school students enrolled in agriculture education in Iowa

• 240 Iowa Association of Agricultural Educators members

• 1,300 Iowa Postsecondary Agricultural Student members

• 13,500 Iowa FFA Alumni members

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Notable Former Iowa FFA Members

Dennis Albaugh – President & CEO, Albaugh LLC

*Norman Borlaug – American Biologist, Humanitarian and Nobel Laureate

Robert J. Denson – President, Des Moines Area Community College

Craig Floss – CEO, Iowa Corn Opportunities

Peg Armstrong Gustafson – President & Founder, Amson Technology LC

Wayne Humphreys – President, Iowa Corn Promotion Board

*Charles Manatt – U.S. Ambassador to the Dominican Republic

Brad Meester – Former NFL Lineman, Jacksonville Jaguars

Abrah Meyer – National FFA Central Region Vice President, 2015-2016

Christopher Novak – CEO, CropLife America

Dwight O. Seegmiller – President, Hills Bank & Trust, Hills, Iowa

Harry Stine – President & CEO, Stine Seed Co.

Steve Zumbach – Principal, Belin McCormick LLP

*Deceased

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FFA Mission:

FFA makes a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education.

FFA Motto:

The FFA motto gives members 12 short words to live by as they experience the opportunities in the organization:

Learning to Do, Doing to Learn, Earning to Live, Living to Serve.

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Investing in Future Leaders

Total Campaign Goal—$5 million

Building the FFA Enrichment Center required a $14.2 million investment. Great strides were made during 2005 to 2007 through the generous gifts of many organizations. The I Believe: Investing in Future Leaders campaign will raise the remaining $5 million of that investment.

Recognizing Our Initial Lead Donors

We want to thank those who believed in FFA and made the first $1 million, Crystal Level gifts to the FFA Enrichment Center:

• City of Ankeny

• Dennis and Susan Albaugh

• Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC)

• Iowa Farm Bureau Federation

• Monsanto

• Stine Seed

“The FFA Enrichment Center is a combination of a facility and a dream. The facility is a place where students from across the state come to develop, where we take what may be ordinary students and turn them into extraordinary leaders. It’s that dream, the potential that we instill at this facility, that makes it second to none in the world.”

— Josh Remington, Executive Director of the Iowa FFA Foundation

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Investing in Our Future Leaders’ Space

We believe in empowering Iowa FFA members with tools and resources that enhance their educational experiences. The FFA Enrichment Center makes it possible to provide those tools within one convenient location. Not only does the FFA Enrichment Center offer a permanent home and location for Iowa FFA, it also:

• Offers work space and sleeping quarters for Iowa FFA student leaders

• Provides space for leadership conferences and trainings

In addition to the resources for Iowa FFA members and their teachers, the FFA Enrichment Center has spaces available for outside organizations to rent for nonagricultural conferences and events such as wedding receptions and anniversary parties. We also partner with Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) to offer agricultural education for post-secondary agricultural students in the area.

Iowa Agricultural Education Organizations Housed in the FFA Enrichment Center

• Iowa FFA Association

• Iowa FFA Foundation

• Iowa FFA Alumni Association

• Iowa Association of Agriculture Educators

• Postsecondary Agricultural Student Organization

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“Talking and conversation have never been huge fears of mine, but the amount of improvement and adjustment that I made to my speaking abilities has been astronomical through the experience that I’ve had with FFA and the different leadership development components offered to me.”

— Abrah Meyer, Former Iowa FFA President and National FFA Vice President

Photo Credit: Iowa State Fair

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Investing in Leadership Development

We believe in focusing our resources to develop the professional growth and leadership skills of Iowa FFA members. Our core mission is to empower Iowa youth with the skills and experiences they need to succeed as Iowa’s future agricultural leaders. Once the FFA Enrichment Center is completely paid for, we will be able to:

• Develop new leadership programs and opportunities

• Provide additional learning opportunities for Iowa FFA members

• Encourage networking opportunities with state/district officers

• Provide networking opportunities among senior agribusiness executives and their employees, as well as with other agribusiness companies

• Promote agricultural literacy

• Promote agricultural education

As thousands of baby boomers begin to retire, it is critical that we educate and inspire those who will take their places in the agriculture industry. We need a confident, well-informed generation of future agriculture leaders, and we believe Iowa FFA members will be prepared to rise to the challenge with the additional resources we will provide.

“I believe that this campaign is very important to the future of our youth, to the future of agriculture. The FFA Enrichment Center is extremely important; however, we are not able to progress forward until we get the financial issues taken care of.”

— Ellen Doese, Former Wapsie Valley Agriculture Education Instructor & FFA advisor

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How You Can Help Invest in Our Future Leaders

It will take many families, foundations and friends to give the $5 million needed to complete the I Believe campaign. Investing in future leaders is a way you can positively impact agricultural education and agribusiness in Iowa for years to come.

• Gifts may be made in cash or securities

• Gifts can include bequests, real estate, life insurance, grain and personal property

• Matching gifts through your employer or spouse’s employer can double, even triple your gift

• Pledges are encouraged and may be extended over a period of up to five years (a reminder will be mailed to you each year)

• Your gift may be made in honor or in memory of someone (a letter recognizing your gift will be mailed to the person you are honoring or the family of the person you are memorializing)

• Please know that your gift to the Iowa FFA Foundation is tax deductible to the greatest extent of the law

In Recognition and in Memory

All donors to the I Believe: Investing in Future Leaders campaign will be recognized through a commemorative program. Contributors of $1,000 or more will be recognized on a permanent, centralized recognition display.

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Naming Opportunities

Many areas of the FFA Enrichment Center may be named for an individual or organization as a result of a major gift. Recognition of these gifts will appear in a prominent place in the designated area.

Veterinary Technology Facilities & Lab 1st Floor $1,000,000Catering Kitchen 1st Floor $500,000Foundation Reception Lobby 1st Floor Farm Credit Services of AmericaAudiovisual Center Facilities 1st Floor Kent Nutrition GroupElevator 1st Floor $50,000FFA Enrichment Center Event Coordinator’s Office 1st Floor $35,000Conference Center Support 1st Floor $50,000FFA Enrichment Center Leadership Manager’s Office 1st Floor Renewable Energy GroupFoundation Executive Director’s Office 1st Floor $25,000Foundation Finance Office 1st Floor $25,000Exposition Hall 1st Floor John Deere Des Moines Works & John Deere FinancialConference Rooms 106 & 107 1st Floor Dennis & Susan AlbaughClassroom 108 1st Floor Ertl Co.Classroom 109 1st Floor Farm Credit Services of AmericaClassroom 112 1st Floor NationwideClassroom 113 1st Floor NationwideClassroom 114 1st Floor Iowa Farmer TodayClassroom 115 1st Floor Cliff Wilson/ Ritchie Industries

Communications/ Computer Lab 1st Floor CargillFFA Library 1st Floor DuPont PioneerFFA Foundation Boardroom 1st Floor Kent FeedsFFA Foundation Suite 1st Floor GROWMARKFFA Advisor’s Office 1st Floor In Memory of Josh DakinFFA Executive Secretary’s Office 1st Floor Rabo AgriFinance InternationalFFA State President’s Office 1st Floor GROWMARKCommittee Conference Room 1st Floor Iowa FFA AlumniFFA State Officer Suite 1st Floor Steve Juelsgaard, Jim Hamilton & Audubon FFABiotechnology Laboratory 2nd Floor Iowa Farm Bureau FederationBiotechnology Corridor & Student Lounge 2nd Floor MonsantoAgriscience Computer Lab 2nd Floor DuPont PioneerClassroom 208 2nd Floor $200,000Classroom 209 2nd Floor $200,000Classroom 212 2nd Floor $200,000Classroom 213 2nd Floor Iowa Pork Producers AssociationClassroom 214 2nd Floor $200,000Classroom 215 2nd Floor $200,000Team Ag. Ed. Storage 2nd Floor $25,000Teaching Lab 2nd Floor $500,000

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Questions & Answers

How will this project enhance the future of agriculture and your organization’s capacity to carry out its objectives? The Iowa FFA Foundation’s I Believe campaign is about enabling us to focus resources on our core mission of developing the growth and leadership skills of FFA members. It is about empowering Iowa youth with the confidence and authority to create a better and sustainable world—and to effectively feed the earth’s 9 billion residents by 2050.

An underlying purpose of this campaign is to retire the construction debt on the FFA Enrichment Center so the Foundation can broaden its outreach and initiate new programs. This campaign will put us on a track to be successful for many years to come. It will allow us to finish that dream and continue forward.

What are the Iowa FFA’s long-term funding strategies for this project? We keep the annual utility and maintenance costs minimized through the use of green technologies such as geothermal

heating and cooling. In addition, the facility is offered for rent for both corporate meetings and other large functions such as weddings, birthdays and retirement parties. Through revenue from the rental of the facility, we are able to fully offset all annual expenses for the facility. We believe this model of funding will continue to prove a responsible method for funding the long-term operations and maintenance of this facility.

What will be the long-term impact of the I Believe campaign? Through the I Believe campaign, the long-term sustainability of agricultural education in Iowa will be secured. Additionally, through the use of the FFA Enrichment Center, generations of students will have access to tools and resources necessary to develop their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success. In the short time this facility has been open, it has already become a landmark in Iowa and we project, as we continue to roll out new programs, more students will come to the FFA Enrichment Center to bolster their skills.

How will the I Believe campaign further the goals of Iowa FFA? The I Believe campaign will make it possible to develop the programs and opportunities to inspire and develop our future leaders. The FFA Enrichment Center provides the space and resources needed to offer leadership development in a facility that was built to host our Impact, Transform and Amplify conferences; house our state FFA officers and their Communication and Enrichment Training programs; and host the State Leadership Conference for District Officers (SLCDO) and the National Leadership Conference for State Officers (NLCSO).

Additionally, through the FFA Enrichment Center staff, we are able to challenge both state and chapter officers individually, allowing each officer to reach his or her true potential.

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Iowa FFA Foundation Team Joshua C. Remington – Executive Director

Byron Weesner – Annual Fund & Communications Manager Janna Foels – Finance Manager

Becky McCullough – Office Manager Jennifer McTaggart – FFA Enrichment Center Event Coordinator

Iowa FFA Foundation 1055 SW Prairie Trail Parkway

Ankeny, IA 50023 515-965-7370

IowaFFAFoundation.org