Richard Arnold
Past USITT President and
Fellow of the Institute

USITT@50 includes a five-year campaign to celebrate the Institute's 50th year of existence. And celebrate we should!

How many well-intentioned organizations fail to survive to their 50th year? The Institute has survived because it consistently provides service to its members and to the field.

Looking to the future, USITT@50 is meant to celebrate our 50th anniversary by helping to make the future of the Institute even more secure. All members of USITT are urged to invest in the Institute's future by contributing to one or more of four funds. Gifts to the Edward F. Kook Endowment support significant research and fellowships; the International Fund assists a wide variety of international activities; and the Student Activities Program of the New Century Fund makes possible a range of student support and encouragement. The value of these funds is well known to our members.

In addition, seeking to extend the options for giving, the Board of Directors established a new, fourth, fund, The USITT Fund. This fund is different from the others, which have very specific objectives. The USITT Fund serves a more general function. It is best described as a fund for our future.

It can be used for a newly-created project, for an activity not already funded in the budget, or for a worthy project or activity that may exceed its original budget. The fund is also important for emergencies, such as a budgetary shortfall, an unanticipated expense, or a sudden equipment repair or replacement.

The fund will, in effect, be an endowment with its principal untouched and generating, in perpetuity, income for assistance to meet special USITT needs.

Members of the Institute who have served as or are current USITT officers, board members, commissioners, and committee members will recognize the importance of a special projects fund. Long-time members and leaders may remember the times in the Institute's earlier years when it was in grave financial straits not knowing where funds could be found to make sure the Institute continued to exist. This history has shown the need for a fund for special projects and emergencies. Because of its flexibility and multiple purposes, the USITT Fund will be a primary and vital tool in securing our future.

In celebration of our 50th anniversary members should consider supporting the USITT Fund, especially since donations can be spread over five years. Fill out and submit a letter of intent for an annual contribution over the next five years. The forms can be downloaded here or from the Institute's web site. And if the first year's donation arrives before June 30, 2006, the Board of Directors will match each of the five years of support by 50 percent. Please recognize the value of this fund and help secure USITT's future.

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