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SCIRA USA Perpetual Fund

While the annual basic and premium dues go to operating the Class, the earnings on the Perpetual Fund are specifically dedicated to promoting the Class in the USA and assisting its junior sailors in participation in international events. We strongly encourage direct contributions to the SCIRA USA Perpetual Fund, which is a trustee-managed fund dedicated to the long-term promotion of Snipe sailing in the USA and support of junior Snipe sailing. Only the annual earnings from this endowed fund are available for use. The objective is to promote the legacy of Snipe sailing that we all have love and gain so much from over the years. We want to make sure this experience lasts for future generations.

These contributions are entirely tax deductible. Below is a list of typically accepted gift types:

• Gifts of Cash (one time or annual)
• Gift of Publicly Traded Stock
• Bequests (through a Will)

Gifts can be made in memory of or in honor of a loved one or long time Snipe sailor. All of these types of contributions have been done by several Snipe sailors. It is a testament to what the Snipe Class has done for them and their families over the years.

Description and Purpose
Updated by the Trustees
(John MacRae, Phil Richmond, and Barb Evans)

January 2007

Background

The Perpetual Fund was created by the SCIRA USA Board at their annual meeting on July 30, 1988, as an endowment fund to be held separate and apart from all other assets of SCIRA. It was created to exist in perpetuity and to hold funds donated by SCIRA members and friends over the years. The Board voted that only the income earned each year by the Fund (never the principal) would be used for the following purposes and no others:

Promotion of the Snipe Class in the United States, and/or
Preferential support for junior US Snipe sailors participating in international Snipe competitions.

At the SCIRA USA Board of Directors meeting in July of 1998, all responsibilities for the Fund’s investments and income disbursements was delegated to a three-member "oversight committee" (now known as the "trustees") consisting of the current U.S. National Secretary and two "at large" SCIRA members selected by the Board from time to time. Later that year, the assets in the Perpetual Fund grew significantly with the receipt of a generous bequest from the Estate of Chuck Loomis, a past SCIRA Commodore and chief measurer.

Today, the Perpetual Fund is invested to remain a strong source of income to help Snipe sailing in the US for generations to come. Income generated in recent years has, among other purposes, been used to pay for advertisements promoting the Snipe in Sailing World, Scuttlebutt and other publications, and has helped junior Snipe sailors travel to and compete in the 2003 Junior World Championship, where the US took 1st and 2nd place overall.

Income Disbursements

Periodically, the trustees of the Perpetual Fund receive grant requests via the US National Secretary. These grant requests are then evaluated by the trustees and awarded based on available income, anticipated investment returns, and the overall purpose of the grant request to ensure that the purpose falls within the Fund’s defined mission and restrictions.

Gifts to the Perpetual Fund

The Perpetual Fund welcomes charitable contributions to help further its mission of promoting the Snipe Class and helping junior Snipe sailors in the US. Like all gifts to SCIRA in the US, gifts directed specifically to the Perpetual Fund are fully deductible for US Federal income tax purposes because of SCIRA’s tax exempt status. For more information about making a current gift or leaving a bequest in your will to SCIRA or the Perpetual Fund specifically, please contact the US National Secretary, Barb Evans. Checks may be made out to "SCIRA USA" and mailed directly to:

SCIRA USA Perpetual Fund
Attn: Mary Buckley
PO Box 83866
Lincoln, NE 68501