FOUNDATION NEWS By Kelli Nienaber Invest in Your Future T HE EQUIPMENT LEASING & FINANCE FOUNDATION off ers tools that help companies expand into new markets, implement new business effi ciency programs and stay ahead of what’s coming next. Do you leverage Foundation resources? Th e Foundation has wrapped up sev-eral studies in the past few months. We recently released the Q2 Update to the 2015 Equipment Leasing & Finance U.S. Economic Outlook . Earlier this year we published The Impact of Alternative Fi-nance on the Equipment Leasing and Finance In-dustry and Digital Docu-ments: Financing Paper-less Transactions. Our online library is a ware-house of research on just about every market and sector within the indus-try. Reports are search-able by topic and author. Are you following the Monthly Confi dence Index? With six years of data, the MCI reports a qualitative assessment of both the prevailing business conditions and expectations for the next four months. The MCI has been noted as a lead-ing economic indicator so be sure you’re watch-ing for monthly releases (see p. 39) . Th e Journal of Equip-ment Lease Financing publishes three times a year (look for the next issue in June) and includes free articles related to re-search studies as well as independent research articles—many authored by members of the academic community studying the equipment fi nance indus-try. Learn how you can submit an ar-ticle for peer review and publication at www.leasefoundation.org/research/jelf/. 38 MAY/JUNE 2015 EQUIPMENT LEASING & FINANCE MAGAZINE Th e annual report from the Indus-try Future Council off ers unique in-sights from industry executives. Th e 2015 IFC was facilitated by Leading Futurists, LLC. Th e summary report was published in March and includes discussions from big data and cyber security stretching out to the year 2030. Th is must-read report is a resource tool for every leasing pro-fessional who wants to navigate through the var-ious external factors that may impact the future of the industry. When you make a fi nancial contribution to the Foundation, you create a partnership that supports the Foundation’s mission to inspire thoughtful innovation and contribute to the betterment of the equipment leasing and fi nance industry Are you invested in the future of the industry? Investing in your busi-ness and industry with a fi nancial contribution to the Foundation is one of the best decisions you can make—and donations are tax-deductible as a chari-table expense. Donors receive generous recogni-tion (in print and on the web) along with access to download our reports and studies at no charge before they are released publicly. With a contribution to the Foundation, you not only will have access to an array of indispensable information, but also will receive recognition as an industry leader committed to the fu-ture of equipment leasing and fi nanc-ing. The Foundation’s products are some of the most forward-thinking, quality research available to industry leaders, contributing knowledge to their work, careers and companies. Along with complimentary and early access to these reports and studies, contributors are formally recognized at the ELFA Annual Convention dur-ing a special recognition luncheon. Additionally, donor names are listed on the Foundation website year-round, as well as in several printed publica-tions, including this magazine. Th ere are several other benefi ts to becoming a Foundation donor that you may not have realized. Being a Foundation contributor means taking charge of your future; gaining unique and insightful business knowledge; and helping to bolster the industry’s image to the academic, analyst and media communities that receive the Foundation’s products. When the in-dustry’s reputation is strengthened, the advantages can trickle down to you and your company. ■ Kelli Nienaber is Executive Director of the Foundation. She can be reached at knienaber@ leasefoundation.org.