The Future Business Leaders of America, or FBLA for short, is a premier, non-profit educational organization in the US today. What exactly is it that this organization does, and what is its history? Read on for the scoop.
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FBLA Organizational Overview
The FBLA is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to a mission of helping to foster youths ultimately becoming successful business leaders. The organization fulfills this mission through a wide array of approaches and most commonly works directly with educational systems and students in the middle, high school, and collegiate academic levels. The FBLA also acts as one of the largest student organizations in the U.S. In addition, the FBLA also works in conjunction with the popular charitable organization, March of Dimes, to establish and maintain funding and other outreach mechanisms.
Structure
The structure of the FBLA follows a divisional-style of organization in which all of the group’s many activities are organized into four, distinct departments or divisions. These divisions consist of the main FBLA Division, the PBL division, the Professional Division, and the FBLA Middle Level Division. Each of these divisions then consists of its own service regions and responsibilities.
In terms of organizational hierarchy, the FBLA utilizes a board of directors as its top tier of leadership. This board consists of a CEO, FBLA divisional presidents, and numerous other business and education leaders. This group then oversees all FBLA operations subsequent to it in the organization’s hierarchy. Administratively, the rest of this hierarchy is designated to five distinct administrative regions.
History
The history of the FBLA begins in 1940 with its initial creation for much the same purposes it continues now. Subsequent years saw the organization grow tremendously which then made it able to affect many more segments of U.S. society than previously able. Some significant dates in the organization’s history have included its 1969 official categorization as an independent non-profit educational student association; a significant 1987 benchmark of surpassing 200,000 members; and the organization’s national center of operations being opened in 1991.
Noteworthy Ongoing FBLA Programs
The FBLA’s ongoing and extensive array of outreach programs continues to touch lives and help future business leaders rise to the occasion every day. The following represent just a small handful of those ongoing efforts by the organization.
- FBLA-PBL National Awards Program – This award program offers members with varying award-based opportunities via 70 competitive events.
- FBLA Adviser Wall of Fame – The FBLA Adviser Wall of Fame is an honor bestowed on advisors within the organization who provide exemplary service in the name of the FBLA mission.
- Gold Seal Chapter Award of Merit – This award is given to two chapters within the organization each year for exemplary service in the name of the FBLA mission.
- Chapter Challenge Series – The Chapter Challenge Series is a series of challenges and corresponding awards for individual organization chapters that include awards for membership recruitment and retention, overall chapter involvement and accomplishments, and many other accolades.
The FBLA is an important American educational organization that has been hard at work since its establishment in 1940. This piece is meant to serve as a brief overview of the organization at the present. For those seeking further information on the Future Business Leaders of America or its ongoing efforts in education today, inquiry directly through the organization’s website is highly recommended.
