Professional Speakers Benefit Fund (PSBF)
What is the PSBF?
The Professional Speakers Benefit Fund (PSBF) provides grants to professional speakers who are in need of assistance due to disability, sickness, catastrophic loss, or having outlived their financial resources. Any current NSA member with at least three years of NSA membership may qualify.
History of PSBF
In 1977, several CPAEs heard that a highly respected speaker and his wife were facing severe financial difficulty due to the speaker’s prolonged battle with Alzheimer’s. The CPAEs decided they wanted to DO something in addition to BEING members of the elite Speaker Hall of Fame®. As word spread, they began sending checks in various amounts that were forwarded to the speaker’s wife. The speaker was none other than Frank Bettger author of bestselling book, How I Raised Myself from Failure to Success in Selling. Both he and his wife were feeling the weight of medical bills and outliving their saved assets. When Frank passed away in 1981, his wife still faced a financial challenge, but because Frank had been in the insurance business, the proceeds from his insurance provided her the income she needed. When Mrs. Bettger passed away, unknown to the CPAEs who had helped them when they needed it most, she had made the necessary changes to her will to make sure the money the CPAEs had sent her was to be repaid in full.
Realizing that other members might one day be in a similar situation, a group of CPAEs suggested using these repaid funds to form a Foundation. Thus, the Professional Speakers Benefit Fund (PSBF), operating as the NSA Foundation, was born and later transformed into the 501(c)(3) organization known today, operating as the fully-funded charitable arm of the Association.
Since that initial act of generosity, the PSBF has helped hundreds of members facing financial, health, or natural disaster emergencies:
“I was resting on our family couch fighting my prolonged illness, when I heard my wife crying in the kitchen. I thought, ‘What now?’ I asked her ‘What’s wrong?’ She came into the family room and showed me your letter and the PSBF check. We both cried tears of joy, of course.”
— Professional Speakers Benefit Fund Recipient
“Thank you for your generous support during these challenging times. Just when one loses focus & questions man, there is a ray of hope which restores faith, belief and hope in each other. NSA, thank you for being that ray of hope. I am truly grateful and will never forget the support.”
— Calvin Mackie, Harvey, LA, Disaster Relief Recipient
“I consider myself one of NSA’s biggest cheerleaders, endlessly applauding my speaker colleagues to reach their highest good in the industry. With my recent brain surgery and the generous support of the Foundation, now I’m the one being cheered on by hundreds of my “family” members. During this little interruption in my life, I’m grateful beyond words for the assistance… I love NSA!”
— Nancy Vogl, Traverse City, MI
Guidelines for the PSBF Grant
Members can request assistance themselves or other members can make requests on their behalf.
- Any member of the Association, who has been in good standing for at least three years, may be eligible for a grant.
- Any former member of the Association, who was in good standing for at least five years, may be eligible for a grant.
- The Committee Chair must personally contact the applicant or, if that is not possible, the closest relative or caregiver, to determine need and circumstances.
To be considered for this grant, please download and complete the application and email it to NSAFCares@NSAFoundation.org.
For more information on the PSBF Grant, please email NSAFCares@NSAFoundation.org.
