Annual Report 2012: FY July 1, 2011-June 30, 2012
AAPG Foundation
The AAPG Foundation was established in 1967 as a 501(c)(3) organization and provides a source of funding for programs that benefit the geologic profession and the general public, encourages a better understanding and advancement of the geosciences and to establish programs and fund projects that support the education, training and career enhancement for earth scientists.
In November of 2011, David Curtiss was ratified as Foundation Executive Director and David Lange was ratified as Deputy Director.
Financial Overview
The economy has been challenging over the past several years; and last year the Foundation’s investment portfolio showed a modest decline. The Foundation portfolio had a 2.1% decline for the fiscal year.
The investment portfolio is conservatively invested and well diversified and includes public and private equity mutual funds, fixed income mutual funds, international investments and real estate. The investment portfolio of the Foundation amounted to $37.6M compared to $38.7M on June 30, 2011.
The Foundation’s financial audit had not yet been completed at that time of this writing, thus this financial information is preliminary until the audit is completed. For fiscal year 2012, the Foundation operating revenue amounted to $1.13M, compared to last year for the same period of $1.09M. Revenues came primarily from rental income, interest, dividends and capital gains, and oil and gas royalties. Operating expenses totaled $1.6M compared to the previous year of $1.3M.
Contributions to the Foundation were $2.75M, and awards and grants amounted to $2.1M. Contributions to the Foundation for FY 2011 were $2.14M.
Approximately 7.95% of AAPG members in the U.S. and 5.42% of members overall contributed $1.8M to the Foundation this fiscal year, up from 5.42% of U.S. members and 3.61% of total members. Interestingly, 95% of the donors and 66% of total contributions are from AAPG members.
Program Support
During the past year, the Foundation continued to support many of the valuable geological programs it has supported over the years such as the Visiting Geoscientist Programs, AAPG Bulletin, Energy Resource Library, Special Region Lectures and The Imperial Barrel Award. A new Digital Products University Subscription was endowed for the University of New Mexico. The Foundation provided funding for ten U.S. and one non-U.S. Distinguished Lecture tours totaling 82 stops. Six GIS UDRIL University Subscriptions were initiated –The University of Houston, The University of Kansas, The University of New Mexico, Texas A&M University, The University of Texas at Austin and The University of Wyoming.
Sixty-eight undergraduate students and their universities were the recipients of an L. Austin Weeks Undergraduate Grant this past year. A new research initiative is being developed and has already received some funding, as well as a program entitled “Enhancing the Quality of Earth Sciences in Grades 6-12.
The AAPG Foundation Trustee Board entertained 22 proposals for funding and approved 14, totaling $350,797. These proposals included $6,000 for a “More! Rocks in Your Head” Teacher Workshop, $6,000 for the Publication Pipeline, $50,000 for the new Bookout Teacher Training Scholarship Program, funded by a generous donation from John F. Bookout, Jr., $100,002 toward OSU GIS Consortium projects, funded through a gift from the T. Boone Pickens Foundation, $10,000 for AAPG Memoir 100: Tectonics and Sedimentation: Implications for Petroleum Systems, partially funded by the Amoruso Special Publications Fund, $15,000 for the AAPG Europe-Student Chapter Program, $35,000 for AGI’s Earth Science Week, $10,000 for the AAPG Student Focus Booth at GSA, $15,000 for the Geology Kitchen web-based video series, $32,395 for the AAPG Student Chapter Leadership Summit, partially funded by a generous endowment established by James A. Hartman, $12,000 for Susan Eaton’s Antarctic Exploration and Outreach called "A Geoscientist in Antarctica: Following in Shackleton's Footsteps One Hundred Years Later", $5,000 for the AAPG Young Professionals Leadership Summit, $40,000 towards the establishment of the Geoscience World Ebook platform and $5,400 for the Boy Scout Jamboree-Merit Badge program.
Regular support is also given for the Halbouty Lecture, the Professorial Award, Teacher of the Year, Teachers Day at ACE, Student Field Trips, the Michel T. Halbouty Endowed Fellowship, the Switch Documentary, the Holland Professorial Award and the Paul & Deana Strunk Geology Fellowship.
The Grants-In-Aid program continues to grow with 84 Named/Memorial grants at present. Six additional grants were established – The Harry and Joy Jamison Named Grant for a student at Oregon State University, The John and Erika Lockridge Named Grant for a student at The Colorado School of Mines, The Meckel Family Named Grant for a student at Rice University, Johns Hopkins University, Williams College, University of Montana at Missoula, University of Texas at Austin or ETH at Zurich studying depositional environments/process in clastics or carbonates (modern or ancient), two grants from the M. Ray Thomasson Named Grant Fund for a student studying at the University of Wisconsin or at the University of Missouri, the Martin D. Hewitt Named Grant for a student at McMasters University, Canada, and the Grants-In-Aid Committee Named Grant, which is awarded at the discretion of the Chairman.
Biographies of all Named and Memorial Grants are listed on the Foundation’s website at http://foundation.aapg.org/gia/names.cfm.
For the 2011-2012 GIA Program, the Grants-in-Aid Committee, chaired by David Sivils, selected 84 deserving graduate students to receive Foundation support totaling $185,000 through the program. The Grants-in-Aid program continues to support graduate and post-graduate students in the studies related to earth science aspects of the petroleum energy industry, including exploration and development of hydrocarbons and economic sedimentary minerals and relevant applications of environmental geology. Student recipients were invited to submit their abstracts for publication in the AAPG Bulletin and on the Search and Discovery Web site.
The L. Austin Weeks Memorial medal was established in 2008, and is the Foundation’s highest award, given in recognition for extraordinary philanthropy and service directed to advance the mission of the AAPG Foundation. The premier award honors the late L. Austin Weeks, whose philanthropic legacy set an exemplary standard. This year, the award went to William J. Barrett. He was presented the medal at the Opening Session at ACE, Long Beach, California, on April, 2012.
Herbert G. Davis was the 14th recipient of the Chairman’s Award for his support to the Foundation. Davis accepted his award at the AAPG Foundation Trustee Associate Annual Meeting in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Fundraising Campaign
On July 1, 2005, The Board of Trustees, with encouragement and leadership from Larry Funkhouser and Jack C. Threet, Co-Chairmen of the “Meeting Challenges...Assuring Success”, Financial Campaign, along with Team Leaders Bob Ardell, John Amoruso, Bill Barrett, Bill Crain, Marlan Downey, Bill Fisher, Jim Gibbs, Bill Gipson, Ed Picou and Marta Weeks, united to kickoff the public phase of the campaign announcing a $35M goal. As of the official close of the campaign in April of 2012, $35,783,070 was raised in contributions and pledges by over 6,655 donors.
To continue to cultivate the strong financial support for the AAPG Foundation, a Fundraising Advisory Committee, chaired by Rick Fritz has been established to continue the work of the Financial Campaign Committee.
Membership
The Board of Trustees consists of Bill Fisher (Chairman), John Amoruso (Vice Chairman), James Gibbs (Secretary), Bill Gipson (Treasurer), Paul Strunk and Ray Thomasson. In 1978, the AAPG Foundation Trustees officially recognized a distinguished group of contributors, known as the AAPG Foundation Trustee Associates. This select group was organized for the purpose of supporting the AAPG Foundation, providing counsel and leadership to its Trustees, lending support to its fundraising efforts and guiding the scientific and educational agenda which it overwrites. Officers are Donald A. O’Nesky (Chair), Stewart L. Henry (Vice Chair) and David W. Worthington (Secretary-Treasurer).
The AAPG Foundation Trustee Associates membership totaled 275 as of June 30, 2012. One hundred nine Trustee Associates accepted AAPG Emeritus membership status.
Thirteen new Trustee Associate members were added during the current year—Annell R. Bay, Priscilla C. Grew, James Henry Henderson, Martin D. Hewitt, Stephen Ernest Laubach, Loren Michael Leiker, Terry J. Mather, Barbara Toan Meckel, Lawrence Daniel Meckel, Rita Monahan, Mark Willliam Shuster and Philip Herald Stark. Nine Trustee Associates passed away—Albert S. Bonner, Jr., James Harrison Davis, Gerald Manfred Friedman, Jimmie Calvin Herrington, John Alan Masters, Thomas E. Matson, Michael S. Shearn, Stewart William Welch and Mark Dale Wilson. The Trustee Associates support has been and continues to be a critical and important factor in the growth and development of the Foundation. Out of the total contribution dollars received by the Foundation in FY 2011-12, $1,486,376 came from Trustee Associates.
At the annual meeting of the Members of the Corporation in Long Beach, California, on April 11, Richard D. Fritz, Edward K. David, Lee B. Backsen and Stephen A. Sonnenberg were elected as members of the Corporation for staggered terms. Alfred “Toby” Carleton, Jr. and Michael R. Wisda were re-elected for five year terms.
The Board of Trustees extends a heartfelt thank you to each contributor for continued support of the Foundation’s vision and mission. Together we can continue to build and strengthen the geosciences industry for many years to come.