The Cosmos Club Foundation had another successful year. This was due in part to the generosity of Cosmos Club members and friends who continue to support our efforts through contributions and participation. The Trustees and Advisors are especially grateful to the McGovern Foundation, Joan Challinor, Jeanne Rosenthal, Jean Federico, and Judith Geller for their exceptional gifts to the Foundation.
The McGovern Award program gave its award for science to Albert-Laslo Barabasi, a renown physicist. His presentation on network theory was both fascinating and understandable. A rare treat.
This year, the Cosmos Club Award, funded by the Foundation, was presented to David M. Rubenstein, well-known philanthropist, entrepreneur, and chairman of both the Smithsonian and the Kennedy Center. His presentation, to a sold-out house, was humble, humorous, and very well received.
Again, for the Cosmos Foundation Scholars program, we had a large number of applications – 273 to be exact. Of those, 27 were given awards totaling $71,295. The hard work of Pete Toulmin should be noted, plus the dedication of the Trustees and Advisors in sorting and judging the applications. It is a very intense process but well worth the efforts of many.
For the Scholars Reception, the same successful format as last year was used. Unlike the former and more formal dinners, the awardees individually presented the results of their research at separate tables, thereby allowing more flexibility and the ability of the guests to directly interact with them. There were over 100 attendees including faculty, mentors, university officials, Club members, and guests.
A gift for the publication of the brochure used in the solicitation letter for the Foundation was, again, generously funded by Joan Challinor.
The finances of the Foundation remain strong. This can be accessed on the IRS form 990 for 2017. Total expenses were $94,357 (slightly less than prior years because only one McGovern award was given in 2017 instead of the usual two). Contributions from 205 donors totaled $112,381. We continue to keep within budget while maintaining a strong balance.