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BY DENNIS BROOKS, P.ENG., P.GEOPH.
Education Foundation Columnist
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I have mentioned before that the Foundation is launching a
small-scale campaign to increase APEGGA member donations.
It would be prohibitively costly for us to attempt a general
campaign to the public, and even beyond our means to make
an appeal directly to every member of APEGGA.
Instead, we will make our appeal by letters to just two special
categories of members.
In 1992, APEGGA changed its policy of providing free membership
to life members. They are now levied a small annual fee. What
you may not know is that life members with the title at that
time were "grandfathered," making them exempt from
the fee.
The great majority of donors to the Foundation make their
donations by an increment to their annual professional fees,
so those grandfathered life members, who don't get an invoice,
are denied this golden opportunity! Our first mail-out, then,
will be to these members, urging them to make a donation to
us and pointing out that as a charitable organization, we
will issue a receipt for tax purposes in amounts over $25.
The second letter will be addressed to members who have now
attained 35 years of professional registration. This appeal
recognizes that these members have enjoyed a long career in
one or more of our professions.
We are asking them to help make such a career available to
new entries through our scholarship programs. Many of these
people are near their peak earning capability, and at the
same time likely have reduced family and household demands;
they are well positioned to consider a generous donation.
We are more than willing to discuss with them options to create
new scholarships or endowments.
Another way of supporting the Foundation is through employer
matching contributions. We encourage you to check with your
employer to find out whether you can have your donation matched
in this way.
CAMPAIGN PROGRESS
To the end of August, we have received $25,300 in voluntary
donations. That gives us enough to increase each scholarship
by $500, or 25 per cent of our goal.
Many years ago, before the Foundation was created, APEGGA
endowed the scholarships and medals at the University of Alberta,
taking advantage of a Government of Alberta matching grant.
At the time, the scholarships were valued at about $350 but
with the growth in the endowment fund, they are now worth
about $3,100! I expect the Foundation board will want to equalize
the values of all scholarships to this level or greater, depending
on the success of this campaign.
So keep those donations coming! Donate online here.
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