Development News
The PAA Fund Campaign continues. We have received contributions from another 50 donors over the summer. The campaign total now stands at $335,000. This is a remarkable achievement. Members of the Development Committee have been deeply touched by the breadth of generosity of PAA members. The contribution of a $100 from a struggling graduate student as well the $1,000 gift from more established members spring from the same motivation – to give back to the organization that sustains their careers. Our deepest thanks to everyone who has given. We still have a long way to go to reach the million dollar goal, but with some extra effort, we are hopeful that the PAA Fund Campaign will reach a successful conclusion this coming year.
The PAA Fund Campaign received its largest contribution on July 30, 2010 with a bequest of almost $50,000 from the will of Calvin Beale. Calvin Beale worked for more than 50 years as a senior demographer with the Economic Research Service of the US Department of Agriculture. His remarkable career and personality were chronicled in obituaries in the New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/03/us/03beale.html) and the Washington Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/13/AR2008091302354.html). In conveying the gift to the PAA Ms. Carol Rudolph, the Executrix and Trustee of the Estate of Calvin Beale, observed that the goals and objectives of the PAA were dear to his heart.
One of the new ways to give to the PAA Fund is to designate a contribution in honor of an esteemed colleague or mentor. When $5,000 has been raised in honor of a PAA member, a brief biographical sketch and picture of the honored member, and the list of donors, is added the PAA website (see http://www.populationassociation.org/sidebar/paa-fund-campaign/honored-members/). So far, the PAA honorees include Ronald Freedman, Al Hermalin, Robert Mare, and Paul Schultz. The $5,000 goal has just been reached in honor of Richard Easterlin and Richard Udry and several more are in progress. If you would like advice on how to organize an effort to honor a PAA member, Eleanor Weis would be pleased to help ec_weis@yahoo.com.
Another new initiative of the Development Committee is to host a local gathering at the home of a PAA member to talk about the PAA Fund and the good works of the PAA. In May, Phil Morgan invited all PAA members in North Carolina to his home in Chapel Hill. Past President Kathie Harris, and co-host of the event, spoke about the many new and exciting projects that were being supported by the PAA Fund with about 50 members in attendance. Local gatherings are also being planned for Washington, DC and Los Angeles. If you would like to organize a local gathering in your area, Eleanor Weis can send out invitations and help with the arrangements.
The PAA Fund campaign depends on each of us. Please join us in securing a bright future for our organization.
