SPECIAL NOTICE: For CALENDAR year 2025 and beyond, donations made through the Pick, Click, Give program will no longer be routed to the Endowment. These funds will now be deposited directly into the AEEF General account to defray the expenses associated with the AEEF’s tax filings.
In March of 2001, the Alaska Engineering Education Foundation (AEEF) Board established the AEEF Endowment with the goal of providing a continuing source of funding for AEEF’s principal activities: the Mathcounts program and ASPE/AEEF Scholarships. Over the years, generous donors have contributed nearly $547,000 to help build the endowment; in return, the endowment has disbursed nearly $74,000 (13.5%) to support engineering scholarships, the Mathcounts program, and general operation of the AEEF. During this fund-building period, excess earnings are necessarily held in investments until we establish self-sustaining footings.
For several years a few donors contributed a substantial sum annually, leading to a surge in total assets. That run of good-will took a hiatus in last year, with the Endowment receiving the lowest level of contributions in 21 years. While we’ve sought means of expanding our donor base, we have yet to find the right formula. The fact is, the top five individual donors have contributed almost 50% of all funds received by the Endowment over the past 24 years. So, we will need to rely more heavily on the 200 or so smaller individual and company donors to continue gifting to the Endowment; these are long term investments and every dollar contributed to the fund will carry a long-term benefit to Alaska STEM students and the community at large.
Our regular donors have been stalwarts in the community and in support of this endowment. Other community members support the programs mentioned above by making direct contributions to Mathcounts and engineering society scholarship programs administered by AEEF for current year expenses. Regardless which they choose – current or long term – the investment in our youth, our state, and our nation is highly commendable. *
Know that we who volunteer in our roles with AEEF appreciate truly every penny you donate to this cause and we endeavor to make the most of your investment by building the foundation of support our target programs need to flourish. During 2024/2025, we continued to invest monies according to the criteria established by the Board several years ago. Market conditions have been erratic during the past few years, but we remain confident our investments will yield superior results over the long run.
Sincerely, thank you to those who have contributed in the past; please keep the Endowment among your favored charities going forward; and please invite friends, co-workers, and industry fellows to join the program. You might even consider the Endowment in your estate planning. To make a contribution to the AEEF Endowment, click on the button below (this will take you to a PayPal checkout page. If you do not have a PayPal account, please note that there is a link to pay directly with a credit card on the bottom of the PayPal checkout page).
You can save the PayPal and credit card expenses by mailing contributions to:
AEEF Endowment Chair
c/o Design Alaska
601 College Road
Fairbanks, AK 99701
Please make checks payable to “AEEF Endowment” and indicate in the memo field the Fund or funds to which your contribution is to be applied: Mathcounts, Scholarships, General.
The AEEF Endowment was created under the tax-exempt 501.c.3 provisions of the IRS code. All donations are fully tax-deductible.
Thank you for your consideration and support!
*NOTE: The link above supports development of the long-term endowment. Other links at this and other engineering society websites, support current year contributions for Mathcounts and program scholarships.
