As you are aware, the camp depends on volunteer effort and on donations in order to provide our program. There are many costs involved in providing an international faculty of top-notch tradition bearers and we believe strongly in providing financial aid for students who need it. Our two donation-fueled funds provided many opportunities for VOM participants and we want to thank all who gave generously:
- The Peter Connelly Memorial Fund, with an infusion from the Maury Richmond endowment, provided $27,231 in financial assistance to 48 campers. Without this aid, most of these musicians would not have been able to attend.
- The Legacy Fund helps hugely with overhead costs and, for example, allowed us to bring our Galician friends to VOM from Spain
We received two generous offers this year from two campers to match up to $15,000 in donations to the Peter Connelly Memorial fund and an additional $15,000 to the Legacy Fund. While the donations to the Peter Connelly Memorial Fund will continue to help fund campers on an annual basis, the donations and matches to the Legacy Fund will be used to set up a VOM Legacy Endowment. This endowment will provide a mechanism for bequests and large gifts to be restricted to generating growth for unforeseen costs at VOM, to help us keep the rate of tuition increases low, and to provide for opportunities like bringing special musicians and/or groups that we would otherwise not be able to afford. We are very grateful to these campers for their generous offers.