Idaho National Laboratory recently announced the launch of the INL Foundation, an independent nonprofit partner for the laboratory.

“There are other labs that have their own foundations, and the thought was that it would really help the lab here,” Linda Montgomery, chair of the INL Foundation board, said during an interview with the Post Register. “... The purpose of the foundation is to really facilitate the Idaho National Lab mission. So, one of the things that we can do is act as a bridge or fill some gaps that the lab could not do for themselves.”

Montgomery said the foundation launch has been in the works for about a year and a half. She said the recent kickoff has brought excitement, but resources are still thin. The foundation hopes to have a lot more information out in early 2025.

“We have a really unique mission, because we’re kind of INL adjacent, and we have no intention of competing with any other nonprofit in the area,” Montgomery said. “But we may be complementary partners because we’ll have excellent access within the lab.”

The founding board includes Montgomery, Steve Hartenstein and Sylvia Medina, who all worked at the laboratory in the past. Montgomery said one of the main functions of the foundation is to help fund INL programs with donations.

Montgomery said INL cannot accept donations because of its federal status. However, individuals and companies can make charitable, tax-deductible donations through the new foundation that can be earmarked for certain INL research or programs.

Also, organizations that cannot meet the requirements as a contractor for INL can still donate money or other resources to research areas they are interested in. The foundation may also be eligible for grants that INL itself cannot qualify for.

Montgomery said the foundation is also anticipating investing in workforce training. She said other foundations often offer scholarships. As there are many scholarship opportunities here, the foundation may take a different approach.

“We’re looking at trying to possibly fund instructors in high-demand areas where higher education in Idaho is having a hard time finding qualified instructors, such as in cyber,” Montgomery said. “We don’t have enough cyber teachers and competing with industry to fund somebody to come teach who is really well qualified is very difficult. So, that may be a place where we can turn around and give grants or endow a chair.”

Montgomery said the foundation can also help commercialize technology coming out of the lab.

She said entrepreneurs wishing to commercialize technology can have a hard time connecting with the lab. But the foundation could help facilitate connection by putting together a consortium, acting as a translator, ensuring security requirements are met or compensating researchers if it’s outside the scope of their work.

“We’re not looking to substitute for anything that the lab does, we’re just trying to facilitate and fill small gaps in the implementation,” Montgomery said.

Montgomery said an additional goal of the foundation is to create an online community similar to an alumni organization. The foundation’s website could host discussions for people that have worked at INL to talk to others about research interests, facility interests or historical interests.

“We would also like to create an online community of people that have worked at the lab, either as an employee or a contractor, anywhere at the lab at any time,” Montgomery said. “You know, after 75 years of the lab being in business we have a lot of interested people in the area.”

“The foundation’s launch is the perfect way to cap the year’s celebration of our 75th anniversary,” INL Director John Wagner said in the press release. “The future is now open to possibilities that deepen the laboratory’s impact by providing new and untapped resources to support the lab’s science and research solving the nation’s energy and security challenges, stimulate economic development and cultivate community collaborations.”