Howdy Texas A&M Foundation Friends and Family,
I hope that this letter finds you and your families safe and well, and that you are adjusting to the challenges and new ways of approaching work, school and daily life through COVID-19. Crisis scenarios can be uncomfortable, often bringing out the best and worst in people, organizations and governments, but they also create opportunities for those same entities to evolve in meaningful ways.
At the Texas A&M Foundation, our mission remains focused on building a brighter future for the university. During this time, we have focused heavily on the relationships we hold with our donors and academic partners, because a sense of community, adherence to the Aggie core values and a network of support are always important.
We also remain focused on being good stewards of the assets and resources that have been entrusted to us. As the state of Texas begins to reopen, we wanted to provide you with an update on a few of the positive developments that have occurred at the Foundation in the midst of this pandemic:
- Aggies have let their generosity shine during COVID-19: To aid members of the Texas A&M community financially affected by COVID-19, we created the Texas A&M University Disaster Relief Fund in late March. To date, more than $507,000 has been awarded to 346 students at our College Station and Galveston campuses. We thank everyone who has contributed thus far—your donations are a true reflection of the Aggie Spirit.
- We continue to manage our endowment for the long term: No one has been immune to the financial effects of COVID-19, and the Foundation is no exception. The troubling energy market downturn coupled with macroeconomic uncertainty certainly make managing the endowment harder. However, we cannot overstate the resilience of our long-term investment pool for Texas A&M thanks to its infinite time horizon, emphasis on diversified assets and diligent management by our investment team.
- The Lead by Example campaign continues successfully: Our team continues to work for the Aggie community. Thanks to the incredible strength of that community, we are still on track to meet the $4 billion goal for Lead by Example later this year. I cannot thank each of you enough for the commitment you have already made to our special university.
Our wish and strong desire is that this crisis will leave our families and communities and our Aggie values even stronger and more resilient than ever. We hope our paths will cross again soon. Until then, we will continue to pray for your good health, blessings and prosperity.
Thanks for all you do.
Tyson Voelkel ’96
President & CEO, Texas A&M Foundation
