2023-2024
MISSION
The National Speech & Debate Association connects, supports, and inspires a diverse community committed to empowering students through speech and debate.
VISION
We envision a world in which every school provides speech and debate programs to foster each student’s communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creative skills.
CORE
FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
This year, as we gear up to celebrate 100 years of the organization's existence, I find myself reflecting on all the amazing things that you make possible in this community. This report is filled with those special moments you help create for students and coaches across the country. Be sure to tune in for our Centennial Celebration in 2025!
Thank you for investing in young people,
J. Scott Wunn
With a small team in a relatively rural school, the opportunity to have practice rounds with a variety of teams is limited. The Springboard scrimmages are an awesome opportunity for my little team to experience a range of opponents and prepare for our regular tournaments. One highlight for us this week was to meet opponents from India. I can assure you that being able to tell my administrators our students were competing with teams from around the world was very satisfying!
— Jennifer Denslow | Oologah High School, OK
The Springboard Series creates FREE, online, after-school speech and debate opportunities for all high school and middle school students. Thanks to the generosity of The Julia Burke Foundation, the NSDA has been offering the Springboard Series since 2020 and will continue to offer it again for the 2024-2025 school year. Throughout the 2023-2024 school year, there were four Springboard events per month. In addition, in April, Springboard offered the Last-Chance Qualifier, which gave students a FREE chance to qualify for the National Speech & Debate Tournament—the largest academic competition in the world!
Learn more about the Springboard Series and view the current schedule: speechanddebate.org/ springboard-series
free events presented by
The Julia Burke Foundation
KEITH WEST MEMORIAL FUND SCHOOL GRANTS
Thank you so much. I wish you could meet each one of these kids who are working so hard. This is really going to go a long way to meeting what their ambitions are.
— Zachary Stachowski
Thomas Edison High School, MN
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE 2023 RECIPIENTS:
$5,000 GRANT: Oliver Wendell Holmes High School, Texas
$2,500 GRANTS: Desert Pines High School, Nevada
Fort Walton Beach High School, Florida
$1,000 GRANTS: Dublin Jerome High School, Ohio
Matilda Torres High School, California
Rancho High School, Nevada
Thomas Edison High School, Minnesota
Woodrow Wilson High School, California
Keith West dedicated his life to coaching and teaching youth in the ways of argumentation and debate. Keith believed that speech and debate could unleash a student’s true potential. In order to ensure more students have access to speech and debate, the Keith West Memorial School Grant provides one $5,000 grant, two $2,500 grants, and five $1,000 grants to schools who show strong potential, but a significant lack of financial resources. Thank you for helping to support these teams.
On behalf of my team, I would like to extend a sincere note of thanks to the contributors who made our road to Nationals a little easier. Many on my team are working extra hours to pay for this amazing experience that they have worked so hard to qualify for: the National Tournament! It is so inspiring to these students to be able to compete to be counted among the best in their event. The generosity of those who donated to make this grant possible is deeply moving to us. We are filled with gratitude.
— Donna Szumila | THEO Christian, TX
The Road to Nationals Fund was created to help talented students overcome financial challenges to attend the National Tournament. With your help, we were able to support 257 schools, providing more than $100,000 of direct support to teams across the country.
Learn more or support the Road to Nationals Fund: speechanddebate.org/ road-to-nationals
6,119 HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS
777 MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS
1,491 SCHOOLS
The 2024 National Tournament brought more than 6,800 high school and middle school students to Des Moines, Iowa, for a week of competition at the highest level.
Visit www.speechanddebate.org/nationals to learn more!
Forensics gives you a sense of confidence in speaking in front of people, a sense of presence, and a sense of pride. It’s about the power of words to influence ideas, to uncover a higher truth, to change minds, and for a lot of people, even to change lives.
— Oprah Winfrey | media proprietor, talk show host, and philanthropist
CLASS OF 1971 | EAST NASHVILLE HIGH SCHOOL, TENNESSEE
Watch Oprah's words of encouragement to the Nats24 participants!: tinyurl.com/2wbxmce3
2023-2024 OPERATING RESULTS
$6,349,862 $6,349,862
2024 NATIONAL TOURNAMENT SPONSORS
What an honor and full-circle moment to judge the [National Tournament final rounds] with Rep. Megan Jones, whom I first met during our own high school debate days. Now we serve together in the Iowa State House…we’ve certainly come a long way!
— Rep. Megan L. Srinivas | Iowa House of Representatives | CLASS OF 2005 — FORT DODGE HIGH SCHOOL, IOWA
The NSDA was honored to welcome VIP judges for the 2024 National Tournament final rounds, including lowa state representatives Megan L. Srinivas (left), Megan Jones (right), and Jennifer Konfrst; president of Tambourine Ari Simon; Pinterest co-founder Ben Silbermann; and actress Ginger Gonzaga.
SAPPHIRE LEVEL
RICHARD BITNER JAMES M. COPELAND
EMERALD LEVEL
DR. MIKE EDMONDS
A. C. ELEY FUND
CARMENDALE FERNANDES FUND
THE RICHARD DAVOUD
DONCHIAN FOUNDATION
IOWA HIGH SCHOOL SPEECH ASSOCIATION
THE JEPS FOUNDATION
VICTOR JIH
ADAM AND ASHLEY JOHNSON
HAROLD C. KELLER FUND
MCCARTHEY FAMILY FOUNDATION
HARLAND B. MITCHELL FUND
LANNY D. AND B. J. NAEGELIN FUND
DONUS AND LOVILA ROBERTS
SANDRA SILVERS FUND
RICHARD B. SODIKOW FUND
BOB AND SALLI STOCKTON
WILLIAM WOODS TATE, JR., FUND
TINA WANG FUND
KYLE AND SHARON KRAUSE FAMILY FOUNDATION LANGGIN VENTURES, LLC TOM AND VICKI ROLLINS JOE AND PAM WYCOFF
Thank you to our many individual donors who have supported us in 2023-2024.
www.speechanddebate.org/ 2023-2024-donors
Rit as Cantina ,
www.speechanddebate.org
