55th Reunion Gift Committee Letter - 8Nov2022
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There can be no denying that recent events at the Air Force Academy have caused many graduates to re-examine their engagement with USAFA. Such concerns have caused some – undoubtedly, including many of you – to ask whether the Academy continues to merit their ongoing financial support. Our purpose in writing, however, is not to “lay down a marker” on either side of this debate, but rather to seek your support for a different sort of marker – specifically, a project that is both by our class and for our class: The Class of ’68 Marker Fund.
As we mentioned in our last email, since our 40th Reunion, our Class Fund has purchased memorial markers for our deceased classmates who are not interred at the USAFA Cemetery. (The Veterans’ Administration already pays for the markers of those who are interred at the cemetery.) Over the course of the last 14 years, our Class Fund has paid, in whole or in part, for several such markers. Often, the families of our deceased Classmates have contributed to this memorialization; however, in those instances where family participation has been unavailable or otherwise insufficient to cover the entire cost of the marker, our Class Fund has underwritten the purchase, which currently amounts to roughly $1,600 each. Although our Class Fund has not found it necessary to make a marker disbursement for the past few years, the fund balance has now been reduced to approximately $12,000 – enough for only a few more markers before the fund is completely depleted. Accordingly, we have established a new fund with the Air Force Academy Foundation – the “Class of ’68 Marker Fund” – to ensure that each and every one of our classmates eventually may be memorialized at the USAFA Cemetery, regardless of where he may be actually interred.
We should note that our class’s support of the USAFA Cyber Competition Team remains undiminished, and you may continue to support the team indefinitely through an outright, pledged or legacy gift to the Air Force Academy Foundation. Yet, at the risk of sounding biased, we also hope that you will consider placing the Class of ’68 Marker Fund toward the top of your end-of-year charitable giving list. (As you’re probably aware, subject to specified limits, you may use a qualified charitable donation for this purpose and, in the process, reduce the amount of your required minimum distribution – and, therefore, your taxable income – for 2022.)
Since our arrival on June 29, 1964, the Class of ’68 has forged an incredibly close bond with one another. Now, as we look forward to our 55th Reunion, we hope that you will support our effort to ensure that all of our Classmates get the opportunity to be honored and recognized in perpetuity as members of “68 Forever Great.” Read the information sheet to learn how you may participate in either or both of these highly worthwhile projects.
Please join us!
Best wishes,
Bill Begert |
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