Can We Grow an Oak?

You know the old saying...big oaks from little acorns grow.  Over the last decade we have been nurturing our little acorn and it has grown from nothing to an Endowment Fund that is now worth nearly $250,000.00!  This is the product resulting from those of you who have been thoughtful enough to add $1 to your dues each year together with those of you who have made donations in honor or in memory of a Masters swimmer.

The USMS Endowment Fund Board of Governors annually considers grant requests submitted by USMS members and others associated with our Masters swimming community and aims at an annual allocation of 5% of the Endowment Fund balance for fulfilling qualified grant requests.  As the Fund balance has grown, so has our capacity to fund grant requests.  Grants as diverse as funds allocated to the Counsilman Center for  the Study of the Science of Swimming at Indiana University to study the benefits of swimming on delaying the effects of aging, to a grant to Metropolitan LMSC in New York to establish a program combining the benefits of Pilates and swimming, have been made.  More information about the USMS Endowment Fund and the grant application form are available in the LMSC Handbook or you can contact Doug Church directly for information.

The Endowment Fund is an important commitment of USMS to grow an oak and we are clearly past the acorn stage.  Please keep us in mind as a wonderful way to commemorate and celebrate the life of a friend or family member and look to the Endowment Fund as a way to help secure funds for worthy projects.