Thanks to the generosity of Club members and friends, the Cosmos Club Foundation’s two hallmark efforts – the John P. McGovern Awards in Science, Literature, and Arts and Humanities, and the Cosmos Scholars program that provides grants for graduate student research conducted at area universities — continue to thrive. The Trustees and Advisors are profoundly grateful to Thomas W. Stern and Joseph K. McLaughlin for their exceptional generosity.
Two McGovern awards were presented during the year. The first was presented to Calvin Trillin for literature in recognition of his distinction in American letters in a wide variety of genre. Mr. Trillin presented a droll and informative talk on “The Writing Game” at the ceremony. The second award, in Science, went to Thad Allen, the national incident commander during the Deepwater Horizon disaster, for his ability to navigate the shoals of science, engineering, policy and politics. Mr. Allen’s talk about that journey was candid and illuminating. Both events were well attended by members and their guests as well as members of the public who are welcome to McGovern Award ceremonies in keeping with the Foundation’s Charter.
The Foundation once again supported the Cosmos Club Award financially and through participation on the Awards committee which selected physicist Leon Lederman as its honoree for 2011.
The Cosmos Scholars program flourished once again under the sterling leadership provided by Trustees Joan Challinor and Priestly Toulmin and the valuable assistance of Trustee Ann Sheffield.
The Foundation has recovered from the market meltdown of 2008 and expenditures have been restored to previous levels. In thousands of dollars:
| 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | |
| Contributions | 51,874 | 35,320 | 198,150 | |
| Dividends and interest | 34,863 | 29,242 | 33,327 | |
| Investment appreciation | (353,901) | 157,597 | 121,330 | |
| Scholars’ grants | (45,195) | (33,040) | (35,950) | (45,001) |
| Awards, other expenses | (26,796) | (29,999) | (35,513) | |
| Assets at Year-end | 1,093,749 | 1,252,869 | 1,534,213 |
In CY’2010, the Foundation received contributions from 275 members of the Cosmos Club and is grateful to its many donors.