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Check Donation via Mail

Please send your check, payable to the IGDA Foundation to the following address:

The IGDA Foundation - attn: Joseph Sapp
19 Mantua Road
Mount Royal, NJ
USA 08061

Foundation Taxpayer EIN: 20-5991931

Thank you for your support!

The IGDA Foundation announced the recipient of the Third Annual Eric Dybsand Memorial Scholarship for AI Development is Victoria L. Smith, a senior at DigiPen Institute of Technology, working toward her B.S. in Real-Time Interactive Simulation.

The scholarship, in memory of Eric Dybsand, the noted AI developer, author and lecturer who passed away in 2004, is awarded annually by a panel selected by the IGDA Artificial Intelligence SIG.

Victoria will receive a Pass to the Game Developers Conference, a $250.00 expense assistance stipend and be an honored guest at the Annual AI Dinner.

Congratulations Victoria!

Tom Buscaglia, Chair - IGDA Foundation

The folks over at GameDev.net made a pre GDC Contribution of $550.00 to support the Eric Dybsand Memorial Scholarship for AI Development at GDC this year. Their support helped cover the costs if this year’s scholorship recipent. This fund is a segregated account in at the Foundation with limitations on disbursement of any funds except to support this worthwhile program.

A big thank you goes out the GameDev.net for supporting this worthy cause.

Tom Buscaglia, Chair - IGDA Foundation

The IGDA Foundation announced the recipient of the Second Annual Eric Dybsand Memorial Scholarship for AI Development is Andrew Armstrong, a Computer Science senior at Loughborough University, Leicestershire, UK.

The scholarship, in memory of Eric Dybsand, the noted AI developer, author and lecturer who passed away in 2004, is awarded annually by a panel selected by the IGDA Artificial Intelligence SIG. This year’s recipient will receive a Pass to the Game Developers Conference and be an honored guest at the Annual AI Dinner.

Tom Buscaglia, Chair - IGDA Foundation

Outgoing IGDA Board member and Chair, Brian Reynolds and his wife Jill, made a generous donation of $2,000.00 to the Foundation. He included a request that a substantial portion of their donation go to the Patrick Downey Cancer Fund. Patirck was a long-time industry artist and contributing member of our game developers community who recent died from cancer. We believe that the Patrick Downey Cancer Fund is a worthwhile recipent and will list it among the potential recipients of ongoing Foundation support.

Thank you Brian and Jill for your generous suppport to the Foundation and for letting us know about Patrick’s Fund, a truely worthy project in honor of one of our own.

Tom Buscaglia, Chair - IGDA Foundation

BYLAWS

OF THE

IGDA FOUNDATION

ARTICLE 1

NAME

The name of this non-profit corporation is the IGDA Foundation. It is hereinafter referred to in these Bylaws as the Foundation.

ARTICLE II

MEMBERSHIP

There shall be no members of the Foundation.

ARTICLE II

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

1. General Powers. The property, affairs, and business of the Foundation shall be managed and controlled by its Board of Directors who will be referred to as its Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees may by general resolution delegate to officers of the Foundation and to committees such powers as provided for in these Bylaws.

2. Composition. The Board of Trustees shall consist of five (5) members, three (3) of which shall be elected members of the IGDA Board of Directors, selected by the IGDA Board of Directors, and two (2) of which will be appointed by the Board of Directors of the IGDA from the general membership of the IGDA and who will have been active members of the IGDA for a minimum of two (2) full years prior to the commencement of their term as Trustee. 3

3. Terms. The terms of members of the Board of Trustees that are members of the Board of Directors of the IGDA will serve for a one (1) year term and two (2) Trustees appointed from the general membership of the IGDA will each serve for a term of two (2) year with the initial terms of general member Trustees being one (1) and two (2) year in order to stagger their terms.

4. Resignation and Removal. Any Trustee may resign at any time by giving written notice to the Chairperson. Such resignation shall take effect at the time specified therein, or, if no time is specified, at the time of acceptance thereof as determined by the Chairperson or Board of Trustees. In addition, any Trustee may be removed, with or without cause, only by the Board of Directors of IGDA.

5. Vacancies. Vacancies among the Trustees, whether caused by resignation, death, removal, or expiration of a term, may be filled only by the Board of Directors of IGDA.

6. Meetings. Meetings of the Board of Trustees may be held in person or by telephone conference. The Chairperson of the Board of Trustees shall provide the date and time for the holding of the annual meeting of the Board, and any other regular meetings of the Board. Special meetings of the Board of Trustees may be called by the Chairman, or by a majority of the voting Trustees then in office, who may fix the time and date for holding any special meeting.

7. Quorum. The presence in person, or in a telephone conference, of a majority of the Board of Trustees shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business at any meeting of the Board; but if less than a majority of the Trustees are present in person at said meeting, a majority of the Trustees present may adjourn the meeting from time to time without further notice.

8. Manner of Acting. The act of a majority of the Trustees present at a meeting at which a quorum is present shall be the act of the Board of Trustees, unless the act of a greater number is required by law or by these Bylaws. Trustees may attend a meeting by telephonic or similar equipment by means of which all persons participating in the meeting can hear each other.

9. Informal Action. Any action required by law to be taken at a meeting of Trustees, or any action that may be taken at a meeting of Trustees, may be taken without a meeting if a consent in writing, setting forth the action so taken, shall be signed by all of the Trustees.

ARTICLE III

OFFICERS

1. Officers. The officers of the Foundation shall be a Chairperson, a Secretary, and a Treasurer. The Board of Trustees may elect such other officers or agents as it shall deem desirable and such officers shall have the authority and perform the duties prescribed from time to time by the Board of Trustees. Any two or more offices may be held by the same person.

2. Selection. The officers of the Foundation shall be elected annually by the Board of Trustees at its annual meeting. If the election of these officers shall not be held at such meeting, such election shall be held as soon thereafter as convenient. Each officer shall hold office until his or her successor shall have been duly elected and shall have qualified. The Chairperson of the Foundation shall also be the Chairperson of the Board of Trustees.

3. Removal. Any officer, except the Chairperson, may be removed as an officer by the Board of Trustees whenever in its judgment the best interests of the Foundation would be served thereby.

4. Vacancy. A vacancy in any office because of death, resignation, removal, disqualification, or otherwise, may be filled by the Board of Trustees for the unexpired portion of the term.

ARTICLE IV

COMMITTEES

1. Authority. The Board of Trustees may designate and appoint one or more committees of its members, each of which shall consist of at least one Trustee who shall act as Chairperson of that Committee. These Committees will prepare and present specific proposals to the Trustees for their consideration and authorization and, upon authorization of the Trustees carry out the administration of such proposal.

ARTICLE V

CONTRACTS, CHECKS, DEPOSITS AND FUNDS

1. Contracts. The Board of Trustees may authorize any officer or officers, agent, or agents of the Foundation, in addition to the officers so authorized by these Bylaws, to enter into any contract or execute and deliver any instrument in the name of and on behalf of the Foundation and such authority may be general or confined to specific instances.

2. Checks. All checks, drafts, or orders for the payment of money, notes, or other evidences of indebtedness issued in the name of the Foundation, shall be signed by such officer or officers, agent, or agents of the Foundation and in such manner as shall from time to time be determined by resolution of the Board of Trustees. In the absence of such determination by the Board of Trustees, such instruments shall be signed by the Treasurer and countersigned by the Chairperson of the Foundation.

3. Deposits. All funds of the Foundation shall be deposited from time to time to the credit of the Foundation in such banks, trust companies, or other depositories as the Board of Trustees may select.

4. Funds. The Board of Trustees may accept on behalf of the Foundation any contribution, gift, bequest, or devise for the general purposes to be deposited in the General Account or appropriately designated sub accounts. Contributions specifically designated for Special Project Accounts will be deposited into separate sub accounts. The Foundation will create and maintain these discreet separate sub accounts that are related to specific Special Projects of the Foundation as established from time to time by the Trustees. The funds in such sub accounts will be kept separate from the general foundation account. However, 10% of all contributions designated for these Special Project sub accounts will be depositided into the General Account. Aside from this 10% contribution, funds in each of these sub accounts will be allocated only to the purposes of the Special Project to which the sub account is assigned. Furthermore, the funds in any such sub account may only be transferred into the general account of the Foundation on the unanimous vote of the all active members of the Board of Trustees of the Foundation, not by a mere majority or quorum.

ARTICLE VI

BOOKS AND RECORDS

The Foundation shall keep correct and complete books and records of account and shall also keep minutes of the proceedings of its Board of Trustees and committees having any of the authority of the Board of Trustees.

ARTICLE VII

FISCAL YEAR

The fiscal year of the Foundation shall begin on the first day of January and end on the last day of December.

ARTICLE VIII

INDEMNIFICATION

Any present or former Trustee, officer, or employee of the Foundation, or other such persons so designated in the discretion of the Board of Trustees, shall be indemnified by the Foundation, subject to the limits of insurance coverage secured by the Foundation, against all reasonable costs, expenses, and counsel fees paid or incurred in connection with any action, suit, or proceeding to which any such person or his or her legal representative may be made a party by reason of his or her being or having been such a Trustee, officer, or employee serving or having served the Foundation, except in relation to matters as to which he or she shall be found guilty of negligence or misconduct in respect of the matters in which indemnity is sought. .

ARTICLE X

PROCEDURE

The rules of procedure for the Foundation shall be based on the rules contained in the most recent edition of Robert’s Rules of Order where they are not inconsistent with the provisions of the Articles of Incorporation or these Bylaws or rules adopted by the Board of Trustees. The Board may employ a relaxed form of Roberts Rules so long as all actions are clear and there are no objections.

ARTICLE XI

AMENDMENTS TO BYLAWS

These Bylaws may be altered, amended, or repealed and new Bylaws may be adopted only by the Board of Directors of IGDA.

I would like to welcome all of the first time visitors to the IGDA Foundation web site. The Foundation was recently launched to support the mission of the IGDA through charitable, scientific and educational works. Please take some time and look at the various plans we have for moving forward in this effort. Hopefully, when you have had a look, you will agree that the work we are taking on is worthwhile and worthy of your support. And, if you have any ideas for worthwhile projects for us to consider, please let us know.

Tom Buscaglia, Chair IGDA Foundation

The Foundation Board of Trustees met for the final time this year. There were discussion regrading plans for the initial year of the Foundation having recently been launched. With the implementation of our online contribution capability we focused on way to make the work of the Foundation compelling and of true value to the IGDA’s members and the game development community at large. In addition to the expansion of our scholarship efforts there was unanimous support of using contributed funds to get solid data on issues of interest to our constituents that is not mow available in anything more than an anecdotal information. Although there is a great deal of research related to the sales of games, there is not much on the people who make them.

The Trustees also spent time discussing ways to make the work of the Foundation of real value to those who support our works. We also discussed structures we could adopt to recognize the individuals and companies that contribute to the Foundation.

Finally, we reviewed our discussions with Talley Management, the Association Management recently retained by the IGDA, about securing their assistance with the ongoing administration of the Foundation.

This is an exciting time for the Foundation with our initial efforts for contributions about to launch. The Trustees plan on meeting again in January to help keep things moving forward in a meaningful way to meet our goal of assisting the IGDA in its mission to enhance the lives and further the professional careers of its members.

Here are the Official Minutes from the meeting of the Foundation Board of Trustees:

IGDA Foundation Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes

November 30, 2007

Meeting held via telephone conference call.

Meeting called to order at 10:00 PM PST and closed at 11:10 PM PST.

Board members in attendance:

Tom Buscaglia, Neil Kirby, Michael Capps, Jen MacLean, Marty O’Donnell.

Motion Summary for this meeting:

Motion made by email and unanimously passed to approve Minutes of Trustee Board 6/07 meeting.

Motion made and unanimously passed to approve Mike at Treasurer and Neil as Secretary.

Motion made and unanimously passed to proceed with negotiation with Talley Management.

Motion made and unanimously passed to create committee to assist in the development of projects and goals for the Foundation.

Motion made and unanimously passed to set the next meeting in mid January.

Motion made and unanimously passed to adjourn.

Neil Kirby - Foundation Secretary

The IGDA Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charitable non profit corporation assisting the IGDA in its mission, “To advance the careers and enhance the lives of game developers by connecting members with their peers, promoting professional development, and advocating on issues that affect the developer community” through educational, scientific and charitable works. Some examples of the Charitable, Scholarly and Educations works of the IGDA Foundation are the following:

IGDA SIG Scholarships

The IGDA has numerous Special Interest Groups (“SIG”) representing the many different interests of its members. Subject areas are self-selected by the members and include, but are not limited to, Programming of Artificial Intelligence, Game Preservation, Education, Quality Assurance, Women in Games and Game Writing. There are several professional conferences such as the Game Developers Conference, the attendance at which significantly enhances the professional development of attendees. The Foundation SIG Scholarships program will provide a vehicle through which these SIGs can select and sponsor and student or other worthy individual so that they can attend one of the conferences at a reduced cost or fully funded basis.

Candidates will be selected from a pool based on their perceived ability to benefit from attendance at the conference and need by a Selection Committee of the SIG. The Foundation will then review and approve the selection and fund the scholarship. These scholarships will be funded through contributions from the SIG members and others, as well as in kind contributions from conference presenters. Individuals related to the SIG selection committee, the IGDA Board or the Foundation Board are ineligible.

More information on the first IGDA Foundation Scholarship recipient here.

Game Industry Related Research

Contributions to the Foundation will be used to fund academic statistically valid research into areas that support the goals and objective of the IGDA. Research into game developers’ employment including Quality of Life, Credit Standards, Salary Ranges and the industry “Life Span” of developers are areas of research presently under consideration. In addition, members may either directly or through the many IGDA Special Interest Groups, suggest areas which may become targets for specific rigorous research projects by the Foundation. These research project will be accomplished through grants to the individuals and institutions conducting the research.

IGDA Foundation eJournal

The Foundation will fund and operate an eJournal for the publication of scholarly and educational works from IGDA members and others in the game development community. The Foundation eJournal will be comprised of articles of interest to its members and to the larger game development and education community. Initially relying on the IGDA members and Special Interest Groups as a source, the eJournal articles will be vetted and selected by an Editorial Board selected by the Foundation Board of Trustees. With the assistance of this volunteer Editorial Board the eJournal will be distributed free of charge throughout the IGDA and the game development community, as well as, in educational institutions with game development related programs.

The Foundation has completed is application to the Internal Revenue Service for registration as a 501(c)(3) charity. All contributions to the Foundation are fully tax deductible under US law as the charitable status will relate back to the initial incorporation of the Foundation.

The Foundation bank account is open and we now have the capacity to accept online credit card contributions here. Or contributions can be mailed to the Foundation at the following address:

The IGDA Foundation
19 Mantua Road
Mt. Royal, NJ 08061
Attn: Joe Casey

A few of our existing and upcoming programs are our Game Developer’s Conference Scholarship program as well as developing statistically valid industry research on Game Studio Quality of Life practices.