A special letter from Jim Robertson,
Chancellor of the College of Fellows

Dear Fellows,

I hope this email finds you all well. By now I hope you have received and read your August Fellows Newsletter. In the newsletter I outlined the goals of the College of Fellows this fiscal year. One of the most important goals was establishing the COF Student and Emerging Professional Fund in the CSI Foundation. The purpose of the fund to be providing financial resources in support of an annual program devoted to promoting the interest of students and emerging professionals in the construction industry and CSI.

Our goal is to raise $37,000 per year over the next five years. There are two parts to the funding: One part is to build an endowment fund of $160,000 in the CSI Foundation to support student and emerging professional activities; the other part is to provide $5,000 per year to support the program while the endowment fund is being built. After the five year period it is anticipated that the interest on the fund would support the student activities in future years at a level of at least $10,000 per year.

I realize that there are a lot of organizations competing for your financial support. But if we all pitch in a little we can make this happen. My challenge to each Fellow to contribute $250 per year for the next 5 years to the CSI Foundation in the name of the COF SEP Fund.

If 150 of us can make this commitment then we can meet the both parts of the funding goal. If 200 of us can help then we can have additional funds available which would put the college in a position to fund other worthy causes as well.

If you cannot commit $250 a year, then I would ask you to consider $100 per year. Whatever you can, I am asking for a multi-year financial commitment so that the college can develop a fund that has a meaningful balance. If you want to make a onetime contribution, that is okay too. By establishing the fund within the CSI Foundation, all of the contributions are tax deductible.

Obviously if the COF commits to support the student and emerging professional program then the first $5,000 raised by the COF each year needs to go to support the current year program. Amounts in excess of $5,000 would go into the base fund account.

I would like to thank those Fellows who have already responded to the newsletter article. I promised Bob McManus at the Annual meeting in Las Vegas that we would make contributing to the fund as easy as possible, so please print out and send in this pledge form with your first contribution.

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