by Don Linebaugh, VAF Treasurer
Thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor, the VAF
endowment just grew by another $100,000! It appears that this is the same donor
who contributed $100,000 in each of the last 3 years. In which case, the total
donation is now at $400,000. Thanks to these donations along with the
generosity of all of our members who have contributed to the endowment via the
30th anniversary campaign, the Fund for Fieldwork, or special annual
gifts, our endowment now stands at over $550,000! This endowment corpus is
invested in a variety of funds and the investment income is starting to make a
major contribution to the VAF’s annual budget, allowing us to fund fellowships,
scholarships, etc. As VAF President
Chris Wilson wrote in his thank you to the donor, “a substantial contribution
to a permanent endowment such as yours plays a particularly important role in
the life, stability and continuity of an organization. A dependable on-going
source of income allows an organization to weather rocky time, to augment its
current programs and to take on new initiatives.” A great thanks is in order
for this wonderful donation to support the organization that we all cherish so
very much.
