Niobrara County Library Foundation Chairman, Leslie Hammond recently announced that as of August 30, 2010 the foundation has reached the second Wyoming Public Library Endowment Challenge program goal of $43,479. “A total of 142,482.87 has been raised and matched by $427,446.61 from the State of Wyoming; these are funds that are specifically for endowment and the Niobrara County Library Foundation is the first to complete this goal in Wyoming,” Hammond explained.
During the 2008 Legislative Session a total of $9,100,000 was appropriated to the
Wyoming Public Library Endowment Challenge Fund effective July 1, 2008; in 2009, Governor Freudenthal requested an additional $3 million for this challenge which was approved by the legislature and became effective July 1, 2010. Once 2.3 million is raised state-wide each library foundation will receive $100,000 for their endowment fund. The Niobrara County Library Foundation will continue to raise incentive funds until the state-wide amount of 2.3 million is reached.
State match amounts are computed based on the amount raised by each county library’s foundation up to $526,087 including the incentive. Counties with less assessed valuation receive more (3:1) in matches than counties with higher assessed valuations (1:1 and 2:1). For Niobrara County the match is $3 for every $1 raised.
One of the stipulations of endowment is that the principal or value of the fund is never spent. Earnings are realized from interest, dividends and market gains (and/or losses). Direct earnings to the organization are a portion of the total annual earnings of the fund. An endowment is not a reserve or “rainy day” account.
For more information about the Niobrara County Library Foundation or Endowment contact Leslie Hammond, Chairman or Debbie Sturman, Library Director.