by Kate Pound, St. Cloud State
In case you are wondering, that is the MGWA Foundation (‘MGWA-F’). We thought this would be an opportune time to remind you all of what the MGWA-F does for our members and community in service of groundwater knowledge and education around the state – and what you can do to help the Foundation do its job better.
Stu Grubb is the new President of the MGWA-F. Special thanks go to Scott Alexander, who was President for the last 6 years and remains on the MGWA-F Board. Stu is a longtime member of MGWA, including a stint as MGWA President, and is currently a Senior Hydrogeologist at Emmons & Olivier Resources. The MGWA-F Board has nine members plus the president (https://www.mgwa.org/mgwa-foundation/).
Why MGWA-F?
First, you may have wondered (as I did in my early days as a MGWA member) what the point is of having a separate entity called the MGWA Foundation. Just like many things in this world, it ultimately has to do with taxes. The grisly details are summarized in the table compiled for our Fall 2019 newsletter (p.5 in https://www.mgwa.org/newsletter/mgwa2019-3.pdf) and on the web page (https://www.mgwa.org/mgwa-foundation/). The short story is that MGWA is classified as a 501(c)(4), which means it is a ‘Civic League – Community Welfare Organization’. Donations and dues are NOT deductible as charitable contributions. MGWA-F is a 501(c)(3), which means it is a ‘Charitable Organization’. Donations to the MGWA-F are deductible by donors on their tax returns. MGWA-F must also ‘take care to generate broad-based public support to avoid classification as a private foundation’.
What does MGWA-F do?
The MGWA-F has, as you might expect, a set of governing bylaws, and meets four times a year, typically in March, June, September, and December. Our primary task is management of the MGWA-F Endowment and the various grant programs it supports. Gone are the days when you could purchase a certificate of deposit or treasury bond and get a sizable and reliable return on your money. MGWA-F works with a financial advisor to manage the endowment funds actively, but still conservatively.
MGWA-F supports two student education awards, the Gil Gabanski Student Scholarship (https://www.mgwa.org/mgwa-foundation/student-scholarship/), and the Pfannkuch-Alexander Field Camp Award. The Student Scholarship program is named for Gil Gabanski, the first MGWA-F President, who was tireless in his work advocating for groundwater education at all levels. Awards are given annually to undergraduate and graduate students studying groundwater-related subjects. The field camp award is named for University of Minnesota professors Hans Olaf Pfannkuch and Calvin Alexander who guided so many students toward careers in hydrogeology. The award is presented to students attending the University of Minnesota’s hydrogeology field camp. MGWA-F has a committee that evaluates student applications, with their decisions then being approved by the MGWA-F Board.
MGWA-F also provides grants to a variety of Community Organizations for groundwater education-related activities. We sponsor Children’s Water Festivals, classroom materials such as groundwater models (the “ant farm” type, not MODFLOW), and watershed district watershed education activities. A complete list of our funded projects can be found at https://www.mgwa.org/mgwa-foundation/funded-projects/, along with links to applications for funding requests. Examples of the activities available at the Children’s Festival in Figures 1 and 2.
Where does MGWA-F get its funding?
MGWA-F gets funding from three main sources; MGWA conferences, donations, and investment revenue. Any remaining “profit” from MGWA conferences (after expenses are paid) is given to MGWA-F. MGWA members often make MGWA-F donations along with their annual membership dues or as memorials. Miscellaneous funding also comes from Amazon Smile and fees for vendor booths at MGWA conferences.
This year has been challenging, as it has been for everyone. With cancellation of the MGWA Spring Conference and the volatility in financial markets, MGWA-F revenues have been down. However, MGWA-F’s long-term planning and financial management has allowed us to remain committed to awarding our regular scholarships and grants. It has become more important that we not only manage existing MGWA-F resources carefully, we also need to undertake more in the way of fundraising efforts.
What can you do to help MGWA-F ?
Your tax-deductible donations are always appreciated. We also need help identifying qualified students for our scholarship programs and groundwater education activities that we can support with grants.
You can be an aggressively passive supporter of MGWA-F! Sometimes being ‘Passive-Aggressive’ is a good thing … read on … Do you ever use Amazon? I will eat my hat if there is a member of MGWA (or their spouse or partner) that has not ordered at least one thing through Amazon since the start of the pandemic. Through Amazon Smile, Amazon directs 0.5% of all sales to purchasers registered with Amazon Smile to the non-profit organizations of the registrants choice. When you go to smile.amazon.com to sign up, search for ‘Minnesota Ground Water Association Foundation’ and help support MGWA-F. In the most recent quarter we netted a paltry income of $13.28 from Amazon Smile. I know we can do better than that! You can sign up for Amazon Smile to If you already have an Amazon Account – or, you can change where money is directed if you have already signed up.
In closing, your donations support projects that further groundwater education, a key piece in groundwater management.
MGWA is committed to developing a just, equitable, and inclusive groundwater community. Click on the button below to read MGWA’s full diversity statement.
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