Donors gifts are doubled with Challenge Match
"Giving away money is easy. Deciding whom to give it, how much, when and how, is not." Aristotle
Private and corporate donors to the
Central Wyoming College Foundation have maximized contributions
and increased
the impact of their gifts since the Wyoming Legislature established the Wyoming
Endowment Challenge Match.
Since the inception of the program, where donations made to CWC are matched dollar for dollar by the state, 42 new endowments have been created at Central Wyoming College.
Not only are the donations doubled, the funds going to new and established endowments are invested and only the interest earnings are used for scholarships or other projects as directed by the donors.
Dane Graham, Chief Executive Officer of the CWC Foundation and CWC's Vice President for Institutional Advancement, said the Foundation is managing a total of 86 endowments, all of which have grown because of the generosity of college donors and the money matched by the state.
Many of the endowments are restricted to funding specific programs and services of the college, and typically 5 percent of the fund's assets are spent every year with any excess earnings reinvested to guard against inflation and recessions in future years, Graham explained.
Donations made to the college have come from an assortment of sources, in small and large amounts, and some have very specific uses.
For example, the Bank of the West has established a need-based scholarship to benefit students from underprivileged backgrounds, Graham explained.
Foundation board member Fred Nicol and his wife Alice, a retired CWC counselor, have created the "People of Courage" fund that provides emergency assistance for students.
A number of community leaders who died this year have been memorialized by CWC endowments, including former CWC trustee George Krause, CWC professor emeritus Ralph Schaefer, longtime Riverton High School volleyball coach Sherry Douglas, longtime CWC trustee and Foundation board member Robert A. Peck, CWC Arts Center coordinator Tonia Burnette and U.S. Energy mogul Jack Larsen.
U.S. Energy and Larsen's heirs also have donated significantly to a fund to honor their mother Lorraine as well as to a Student Life Endowment to support athletics and other student activities. Other major donations to the endowment include wyoming.com, Fremont Therapy Group partners Scott Phister and Brent Kaufman.
The Matthew and Virgie O. Dragicevich Foundation provided CWC with funds to install an Interactive Classroom Network at the college's Jackson Campus. Changing technology and frugal budgeting allowed it to be installed at a lower than projected cost, and the Foundation was provided with the remaining funds to establish an endowment for upkeep on the electronic classroom.
A number of donations have been directed to specific programs, such as scholarships to nursing, equine science, and art students. Attorney Mike Svilar has established an endowment that is to be used specifically by the nursing department for program supplies and equipment.
People have made donations specific for students who reside in particular communities and there a number of donations provided to assist CWC's Native American students.
CWC's Classified Staff created an endowment so that employees in that group could use the generated funds for textbooks and supplies to enhance their educational opportunities.
Foundation Assistant Director Lynette Jeffres said many people have made donations to endowments as birthday and Christmas gifts as a way to support CWC and solve gift-giving dilemmas.