A new model for endowments has proven successful for the Oregon Chapter – three new endowments were announced by President Joan Foley at the Scholar Awards Luncheon in early November.  Matching funds were offered by the three research partner universities supported by ARCS Oregon (OHSU, OSU, and UO).   Additional university matched endowment opportunities are available for donors at OSU and UO. 

Under the new model, a scholar award in perpetuity can be created with $100,000 from a donor, $50,000 from a university and $7,500 from the ARCS Foundation Oregon. The previous three existing ARCS Oregon endowments were started with a $200,000 donor gift.  The universities are excited about the new model and the deans have embraced the challenge to find unrestricted dollars.  This is a testament to how well ARCS Oregon has built its relationships with the universities and the deans easily understand the value of this opportunity.

The three new endowments will fund scholar awards in fall 2016:

• Caron and Larry Ogg have donated a new endowment for the College of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences at Oregon State University. CEOAS contributed $50,000 to make this possible. ARCS Portland gave $7,500.
• An anonymous Portland donor created the first endowment at the University of Oregon with a $100,000 gift. UO allocated $50,000 and ARCS Portland contributed $7,500.
• Barbara and Philip Silver have donated a new scholar award in perpetuity at the College of Agricultural Sciences at Oregon State University, thanks to $50,000 matching funds from the college. ARCS Portland gave $7,500.
• Susan and George Swindells have donated a new endowment for the School of Medicine at Oregon Health & Science University.  OHSU contributed $50,000 and ARCS Portland gave $7,500.

One additional donor has elected to fund an endowed scholar award for future scholars:

• Nancy and Dodd Fischer have donated a new endowment for the College of Forestry at Oregon State University.  Forestry gave $50,000 to make this possible.  ARCS Portland gave $7,500.

Currently additional matching funds are available for donors to create new endowments with this model. These funds are available from Oregon State University in the College of Engineering and College of Science (microbiology).

President Joan Foley states, “We now have the potential for a total of 13 endowments with matching funds from OHSU, OSU and UO.  The commitment of our university partners in offering these funds to create endowments when combined with a $100,000 donor gift and the ARCS Portland contribution of $7,500 should serve to inspire a new group of donors. The new endowments will have a huge impact on funding stability in addition to our generous donors who have funded awards in the past and continue to renew their support to ARCS scholars.”

Contact President Joan Foley for more information.