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Update

John W. (Jack) Hess, GSA Foundation President

Message from New GSA Foundation President John W. (Jack) Hess

Iam pleased to begin the New Year in my role as president Going forward, it is vital to continue to build a balanced mix of
of the GSA Foundation. I bring with me a keen apprecia- support from members, foundations, and corporations. Giving to
tion of the possibilities members and corporate and foun- the GSA Foundation reflects national trends, with 80% of chari-
dation partners provide for The Geological Society of table giving from individuals and 20% from foundations and
America through your support of the Foundation. Every corporations (National Philanthropic Trust: Charitable Giving
gift we receive represents a meaningful investment in programs Statistics for 2013, www.nptrust.org/philanthropic-resources/
benefiting thousands of GSA members. I look forward to building charitable-giving-statistics/). Support from all sources will play an
upon the impressive accomplishments of Geoff Feiss to elevate increasingly essential role in providing established programs and
the role of the Foundation as a partner in achieving your philan- launching and growing new initiatives like On To the Future and
thropic objectives. GSA’s Geoscience Career Program.

A key strength of the Foundation is the commitment of its Charitable giving to any cause is rooted in values, emotions,
governing body, the Board of Trustees. Led by Margaret R. Eggers, and experiences. The GSA Foundation looks forward to
the Board has shaped the Foundation into an organization remaining your respected partner in helping realize your philan-
achieving steadily improving performance in revenue generation, thropic support of the geosciences.
funds transferred to the Society, fiscal accountability, and trans-
parency. I’m pleased to note that Charity Navigator (www.chari-
tynavigator.org), an independent evaluator of charity
performance, gives the Foundation a score of 85.56 out of 100 for
its financial accountability and transparency. Though more diffi-
cult to measure but equally important, the spirit of collaboration
between the Foundation and the Society creates a higher level of
service for our members. What this means for our donors and
partners is that your support is efficiently and effectively
deployed to advance GSA’s mission and strategic objectives.

www.gsafweb.org

GIVING TO THE GSA FOUNDATION THE PENROSE CIRCLE GSA TODAY | www.geosociety.org/gsatoday/

• Give online at www.gsafweb.org/donate/; The Penrose Circle recognizes donors who
support GSA at these levels:
• Transfer securities: Contact Ed Smith, Merrill Lynch
Senior Financial Adviser, +1-866-834-0756; Penrose: US$500–$999
Topaz: US$1,000–$2,499
• Give when renewing your membership; Ruby: US$2,500–$4,999
Emerald: US$5,000–$9,999
• Designate the GSA Foundation as a beneficiary of your Diamond: US$10,000 or more
IRA or your estate;

• Mail a donation to the GSA Foundation, P.O. Box 9140,
Boulder, CO 80301-9140, USA.

The Geological Society of America Foundation (GSAF) secures funds for activities and programs of The Geological Society
of America. GSAF is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation; tax ID# 74-215-6871.

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