Cy-Fair Educational Foundation establishes aggressive Endowment Program

The Cy-Fair Educational Foundation’s board of trustees recently took a bold step in creating a solid Endowment Program in order to encourage companies and individuals to establish endowed scholarships for students in the Cypress-FairbanksIndependentSchool District.

With the cost of education skyrocketing, said 2008 Board Chairman Fred Caldwell, it was critical to strengthen that program so that students get the financial assistance they need to take the next step in their post-graduate educational endeavors.

“Cy-Fair ISD is growing at a rapid rate, and the CFEF board realized that in order to keep up with the district’s growth and the rising rate of college tuition, it was imperative to increase our funding sources,” Caldwell said.  “We have already had a substantial response from the community to the endowment program which will allow the foundation to better serve the needs of the Cy-Fair community.”

CFEF is committed to the goal of adding $200,000 each year in endowed scholarships to the fund, Caldwell said. To date, over $100,000 has been committed by individuals, companies and organizations to the Endowment Program.

“In the past, individuals and companies did donate funding in the name of endowed scholarships to CFEF, but there was no formal program,” Caldwell said. The creation of the structured Endowment Program will allow companies as well as individuals to easily establish an endowed scholarship in the name of a company, individual, in honor or memory of someone.

Endowed funds are invested in total, and each year only a portion of the invested income earned is spent while the remainder is added to the original principal.  Endowments may be established in the amounts of $20,000, $50,000, $100,000 or more and can be named for private individuals, corporations and organizations, in memory of individuals and in honor of individuals. A scholarship will be awarded on an annual basis once the endowment is fully funded.

Donors have seven years in which to fully fund their endowment.

By creating an endowment, Caldwell said, an annual scholarship will be given in perpetuity to a student who meets the requirements of that scholarship. Also, a permanent endowment wall is being established at the RichardE.BerryInstructionalCenter to recognize donors and/or the person for whom the scholarship is named.

Recent endowed scholarships have been made by the Cy-Fair Federal Credit Union in honor of Pat Willbern, Cory and Kristie Jackson, General Growth Properties’ Bridgeland, the Chun-Cheng Cheng Charitable & Educational Foundation, and in memory of First Lieutenant Jeremy Ray.

CFEF Executive Director Marie Holmes said the recipients of CFEF endowed scholarships may not have been able to pay for a post-graduate education without facing significant debt after graduation, or maintaining a strenuous work schedule while trying to find time to study and excel in their coursework. Their financial load is lightened with scholarship funding, she said.

“We cannot thank enough those who have established endowed scholarships in the past, and encourage those who are considering the creation of one through our new program to seek additional information from CFEF on how the program works and who will benefit from their generosity,” Holmes said. “An endowed scholarship truly is the gift that keeps on giving.”

For more information about the Endowment Program, call Cy-Fair Educational Foundation executive director Marie Holmes at 832-381-2333, marie@thecfef.org or visit www.thecfef.org