Friends of AATG Endowment

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As German enrollments have shrunk over the last decade and German programs across the U.S. have been cut, membership in the AATG has understandably declined from over 7300 members to under 5000, a decrease of twenty-five percent. At the same time, the AATG has been confronted with a steady reduction in financial support from the German government, whose grants can be used only to underwrite the direct costs of programs and cannot be used to cover the overhead expenses to administer these programs. Faced also with the fact that membership dues cover less than one-quarter of the budget of the AATG, the Finance Committee concluded that additional sources of income would have to be found, if the AATG were to survive as the association we have come to know and depend on and if the AATG’s training programs and services for American German teachers were to continue. The Finance Committee therefore recommended at the meeting of the Executive Council in Baltimore, Maryland, in November 2005, that the American Association of Teachers of German establish an endowment fund to support its various programs and services for the teaching of German. In August 2006, the Executive Council unanimously adopted the resolution to establish the AATG Endowment: Friends of AATG (EFOA) and to use previously restricted AATG funds as its founding capital. Once the endowment reaches $250,000, the income from this fund will be used to support the work of the AATG, but the principal will remain untouched.

Since 1997 the AATG has had an Endowed Scholarship Fund (ESF), which was founded by the then presiding president, Lynne Tatlock, for the express purpose of “supporting study abroad for students at all levels of instruction.” The AATG now has two endowment funds, the Endowed Scholarship Fund and the Friends of AATG Endowment, that complement each other and provide greater opportunities for financial support of the various endeavors of the AATG. In August 2006 the Executive Council also adopted Investment Policies, which apply to all AATG endowed funds and which cover their management, investment guidelines, and use of income.

To encourage the continued growth of the AATG Endowments, President Anne Green appointed an external Advisory Committee on Planned Giving to advise the Executive Council on strategies for planned giving of members and friends of AATG as well as on strategies for soliciting potential donations from corporations and foundations. Members of this committee are James C. Davidheiser (chair), Kathy Fegely, Mark Himmelein, Anne Green (president, ex officio), and William E. Petig (treasurer, ex officio). The first task of this committee was to send a letter this fall to all members of the AATG who are 45 and older suggesting ways in which they can support both endowments through bequests in the future or with gifts now.

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William E. Petig, Treasurer

Resolution Establishes AATG Friends of AATG Endowment

Whereas the perpetuity of the American Association of Teachers of German is crucial to the future of the instruction of the German language and the culture of the German-speaking countries in the United States, and

Whereas the current membership dues provide less than half of the operating budget, and

Whereas the AATG has long supported the professional development and professional activities of German instructors across the nation and would like to continue and expand such opportunities,

We hereby resolve that the AATG establish an endowment fund, “Friends of AATG,” whose purpose will be to support the programs and services of the AATG.

AATG funds that were previously restricted will become the founding capital of the endowment fund. When the principal of the endowment fund “Friends of AATG” reaches $250,000, the income from the fund may be used to support the work of the AATG. The principal will remain untouched.

The Finance Committee of AATG, chaired by the Treasurer of the AATG, shall manage the fund and report to the Executive Council annually on the status of the fund. The treasurer shall be responsible for keeping the other members informed, calling meetings, and relaying decisions to the AATG Executive Council. The AATG Executive Council, in consultation with the AATG Executive Director, will determine the specific use of the funds from income and/or gains when these become available.

Should the Association be dissolved, the moneys in the endowment fund “Friends of AATG” shall be distributed according to the provisions under Article X. of the AATG Constitution relating to the dissolution of the Association. The laws of the State of New Jersey relating to endowments funds shall apply on all legal matters connected with the fund.

August 2006