Each fall, the church I attend engages in its annual stewardship campaign. Although the messengers may change from year to year, the message remains the same. Specifically, members of our congregation are challenged to give of their “time, talent, and treasure” to help support the direction set forth by the elected church leaders. As I listened to the testimonials and appeals of individuals at the ACCP Research Institute (RI) gala titled “There’s a New Gig in Town” at our 2008 Annual Meeting in Louisville, I was struck by the parallels between stewardship at one’s place of worship and stewardship within a professional organization. As ACCP members, we should ideally feel the same sense of responsibility for giving of our “time, talent, and treasure” for professional initiatives as we would for faith-based initiatives.

Before addressing our ACCP stewardship responsibilities, let me first summarize the new direction set forth by the Board of Regents and RI Board of Trustees for the ACCP RI. This change in direction is essentially one of moving from serving as a grant funder to one whereby the RI pursues a research agenda aimed at expanding the number of members who will directly benefit from ACCP RI programs. In essence, rather than funding relatively modest research grants, a decision was made to help our members position themselves for larger funding opportunities through the Focused Investigator Training (FIT) program and the ACCP Research and Scholarship Academy. Furthermore, the establishment of an ACCP Practice-Based Research Network (PBRN) would facilitate setting a national research agenda to answer larger questions, such as the value of clinical pharmacy services.

These aforementioned RI initiatives cannot be sustained unless the three primary elements of good stewardship are shared by our members. First, ACCP members will need to give generously of their “time” to participate in the FIT and Research and Scholarship Academy, as well as the ACCP PBRN once established, if they are to enjoy long-term success. The same is true of the “talent” that needs to be shared by College members as educators and mentors within these training programs as well as developers of the infrastructure for the ACCP PBRN. Last, but not least, is “treasure.” We all are incredibly blessed financially within the pharmacy profession. Not only are our efforts handsomely remunerated, but also, our job security is strong even during periods of financial uncertainty, as is presently the case around the world. I ask each of you to share your “treasure” to ensure that the ACCP RI Frontiers Fund remains a viable source of funding for the new RI initiatives, just as it has helped scores of researchers with grant support in the past.

“Time, talent, and treasure” are the essential elements of stewardship. Please thoughtfully consider giving of your many professional gifts in support of the new RI initiatives—including a monetary pledge to the ACCP Frontiers Fund—today.

Brad Boucher, Pharm.D.
Chair, Frontiers Fund Campaign Committee