The Icelandic Canadian - 01.06.2000, Side 19

Vol. 55 #4
THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
317
forth in paragraph 3 of Schedule "B"
Encroachment on Capital
14. It is understood that the Committee may and is empowered to authorize encroach-
ment upon the capital of the Fund:
(a) to no more than $15,000.00 per annum for the purpose of the payment of the salary
of the academic staff of Icelandic Canadian Studies;
(b) of the money accumulated in the Fund, to no more than $750,000.00 for the pur-
pose of the design and construction mentioned in Section 13(a)(ii) hereof and the furnish-
ing and equipping of such space, it being understood that any such expenditure over
$500,000 will be a first charge against the $500,000 referred to in Section 13(a) hereof,
such reduction in endowment for acquisitions, etc., to be recognized as a call on the amount
that the Fund exceeds its initial goal of $1,650,000.
and the decisions to make such expenditures up to the amounts mentioned shall be
Special Decisions"14
The detail in Section 14 (b) was formally changed to this form in order to allow the provision
of the necessary capital to support the more up-to-date estimate of the costs of provision of space
for the Collection, while maintaining the balance of use between Department and Collection.
On February 25, 2000, at a ceremony held in the Icelandic Collection of the Elizabeth Dafoe
Fibrary at The University of Manitoba, the Government of Iceland, Eimskip and the Eimskig Trust
at the University of Iceland announced pledges to the campaign of $600,000, $200,000 and
$200,000, respectively to be paid in three equal annual installments starting in early 2000. This
marked the official launch of the campaign.15 At the time of writing (April, 2000) the total pledged
to the Fund already exceeds $1,409,000.00 the largest part of which being the aforementioned mag-
nificent $1,000,000 from the three sources in Iceland. Fikely by the time the issue carrying this arti-
cle sees the light of day, the pledges will exceed the initial goal of $1,650,000 and will be well on
the way to providing additional funding for many of the important associated activities mentioned
above.
On-going Nature of the VIP Fund
Because of the on-going nature of donations (for example through wills and other commitments
in the future) the trust accounts established to receive the donations are "open-ended.” That is, they
are for all practical purposes open to receive funds in peq>etuiim. The VIP Fund is no exception to
this. It is to be hoped that, like many such fund-raising initiatives, it will continue to be the recipi-
ent of donations beyond the time when the initial goal is reached and, indeed, indefinitely. This "liv-
ing concept" of increasing the value of the trust through continuing donations is both appropriate
and necessary, given that the best estimate of needs at any time cannot anticipate the extent of all
desirable activities relating to its stated purposes, either initial or subsequent and their associated
costs. That is what happened to the original 1949 Trust.
As a community, it is our responsibility and those of our succes-
sors to see that this problem does not recur, but, rather, to see to it that
the impressive pillars and arch built by the support, effort and gen-
erosity of so many over the past century are maintained and strength-
ened for all on-going and new initiatives. In a word, it is to ensure that
the Icelandic Presence at The University of Manitoba, as the focus of
studies of the Icelandic language and culture on this continent, flour-
ishes indefinitely to serve not only all future "Western-Icelanders" but
future generations of all cultures and backgrounds.
Give the VIP Campaign your most serious consideration and gen-
erous donation. Fet us all assure the future.
Richard Johnson