Annual Report 2011: FY July 1, 2010-June 30, 2011
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, encourage a better understanding and advancement of the geosciences and for projects that support the education, training and career enhancement for earth scientists.
Financial Overview
The economy has been challenging over the past several years; however, things improved modestly last year which assisted in the Foundation’s investment portfolio growth. The Foundation portfolio grew by 23% which is up for the second year in a row after three years of decline.
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 $38.6 million compared to $31.4 million on June 30, 2010.
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 2010–2011, the Foundation operating revenue amounted to $1.25M, compared to last year for the same period of $982,826. Revenues came primarily from rental income, interest, dividends and capital gains, and oil and gas royalties. Operating expenses totaled $1.346M compared to the previous year of $1.395M.
Including contributions to the Foundation of $2.14M and awards and grants of $1,660,969, the Foundation had a surplus for the year of 387K. For comparison, in fiscal year 2009–2010, the Foundation had a gain of $110,000.
The contributions to the Foundation for FY 2010–2011 of $2.140M were slightly below FY 2009–2010 of $2.24M. Approximately 5.42% of AAPG members in the U.S. and 3.61% of members overall contributed to the Foundation this fiscal year. For FY 2009–2010, 15% of AAPG members contributed to the Foundation in this manner.
Program Support
The Foundation continues to provide funding for many of the core programs supported the past several years as well as some new programs. Awards and grants amounted to $1.661M. This number includes $420,495 for the Bridge Fund and compares to $2.125M in FY 09–10.
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, K-12 Education Programs and the Imperial Barrel Award. Five new Digital Products University Subscriptions were endowed at the $15,000 level. The Foundation provided funding for eight North American and four international Distinguished Lecture tours. Two new programs established were the Newly Released Publication Endowment Subscription and the GIS UDRIL University Subscription. Forty-four undergraduate students and their universities were the recipients of an L. Austin Weeks Undergraduate Grant this past year.
The AAPG Foundation Trustee Board entertained 22 proposals for funding and approved 15, totaling $480,015. Some of the major programs which received funding by the Foundation during the past year included $10,000 to support the AAPG Young Professionals Committee to attend the Leadership Summit, $45,000 in continued funding for the GeoFORCE Texas program, $10,000 toward the AAPG Student Focus booth at GSA in Denver, $43,150 to Datapages, $25,000 for the AGI Geoscience Workforce Program, $5,000 toward the Tulsa Geoscience Center, $50,000 to provide K-12 earth science teacher training through the Bookout initiative, $25,000 toward AGI’s “Promoting Geoscience Careers” program, $9,878 toward scanning Bulletin memorials, $32,500 to the Santa Barbara Museum/Diblee Geology Center, $35,000 to support AGI’s Earth Science week, $100,000 to Indiana University for their field station in Montana, and $62,500 was approved for AAPG President Paul Weimer’s Visiting Geoscientist Tour for 2011–2012.
The Grants-In-Aid program continues to grow with 81 Named/Memorial grants and six additional grants established but not yet fully funded. This year, one new named grant was endowed – the John and Colleen Silcox Named Grant. This grant can be used for a qualified candidate from any university with a geology department. Biographies of all Named and Memorial Grants are listed on the Foundation’s website at http://foundation.aapg.org/gia/names.cfm. The minimum contribution to establish a Named/Memorial Grant was raised from $15,000 to $25,000 this year.
For the 2010–2011 GIA Program, the Grants-in-Aid Committee, chaired by David Sivils, selected 82 deserving graduate students to receive Foundation support totaling $179,000 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 website.
The L. Austin Weeks Memorial medal was established in 2008, and is the Foundations 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 Jack Threet. He was presented the medal at the All-Convention Luncheon in Houston, TX in April, 2011.
Bill Crain was the 13th recipient of the Chairman’s Award for his support to the Foundation. Crain accepted his award at the AAPG Foundation Trustee Associate Annual Meeting in Lake Tahoe, CA. A new Trustee Associate Service Award was established this year but has not yet been awarded.
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 and Campaign 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 June 30, 2011, over $34.3 million had been raised in contributions and pledges by over 6,547 donors. In addition, 55 individuals were recognized for long-term, consistent giving to the Foundation.
Membership
The AAPG Foundation Trustee Associates membership totaled 275 as of June 30, 2011. Officers are Bill Fisher (Chairman), John Amoruso (Vice Chairman), James Gibbs (Secretary), Bill Gipson (Treasurer), Paul Strunk and Ray Thomasson. The 2010 annual meeting was held in Greensboro, Georgia, and the 2011 meeting was held in Lake Tahoe, California. Six new Trustee Associate members were added during the current year and the same number passed away. The Trustee Associates support has been and continues to be a critical and important factor in the growth and development of the Foundation. The minimum contribution to join was raised from $12,500 to $15,000 this year. Twenty-two Trustee Associates accepted AAPG Emeritus membership status.
At the annual meeting of the Members of the Corporation in Houston, Texas on April 11, Paul Strunk and Ray Thomasson were both elected as Trustee members of the Foundation Corporation. John Amoruso was re-elected. Donald Lewis and Ed Heath were elected as members of the Corporation for five-year terms. Robert Gunn and Scotty Holland were re-elected.
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 meet challenges and assure success for many years to come.