UMaine Alumns Create Three Endowment Funds Through Foundation Matching Program
Contact: Amos E. Orcutt
University of Maine Foundation President/CEO
(207) 581-5100
ORONO — News of the University of Maine Foundation’s 75th Anniversary Matching Gift Scholarship program came just in time for UMaine alumni Mike and Ellen Flaherty of Huntsville, Alabama. They had been thinking of establishing scholarship funds in memory of Mike Flaherty’s father, Virgil E. Flaherty, who died in 1990 and his mother, Beatrice P. Flaherty, who died this past May. They were motivated to act when they learned that the Foundation would complement a gift of $15,000 with a match of $5,000 to boost a new scholarship fund to meet the UMaine’s minimum level of $20,000 for a named, endowed fund. They even decided to give a gift to start a fund in their own names, included in their wills.
“We are grateful that the Foundation’s 75thAnniversary Matching Gift Scholarship program made establishing these funds so easy,” Mike Flaherty said. “This opportunity allowed us to pay tribute to both my parents, to help University of Maine physics students and to start our own legacy.”
“We are very thankful for the foresight and generosity of Mike and Ellen Flaherty,” said Foundation President and CEO Amos Orcutt. “In addition to creating meaningful legacies for the Flahertys and their loved ones, these funds will provide educational opportunities for deserving students for generations to come.”
UMaine President Robert A. Kennedy noted the timeliness of the gift.
“The need for private support has never been greater,” Kennedy said. “Because of the weak economy and the downturn in the stock market, many endowments have no earnings. This greatly impacts our students. We are grateful for the efforts of the Foundation and to Mike and Ellen Flaherty for the generous support of their alma mater.”
The Foundation’s 75th Anniversary matching gift program ends December 31, 2009.
The University of Maine Foundation is an independent 501(c)(3) organization that exists primarily to encourage gifts and bequests designed to nurture academic achievement, foster research and elevate intellectual pursuit at the University of Maine. The Foundation’s offices are located at Buchanan Alumni House, Orono,ME, 100 Foden Road in South Portland and online at www.umainefoundation.org.