Fort Schuyler Magazine Spring 2021

WHERE TO DIRECT YOUR SUPPORT FOR STUDENTS

With a proliferation of Fort Schuyler related organizations and entities, confusion often abounds for those who want to support today’s students. Maritime College and the Maritime College Alumni Association are working more closely today than ever before, but many alumni remain unsure of where to direct their support for various programs and needs. To ensure donors’ intentions are carefully protected, the SUNY Maritime Foundation, Inc. was established by the College as its independent fiduciary, but it is not the only avenue to support students. Regardless of the avenue you choose to support today’s Fort Schuyler students, your generosity is deeply appreciated.

THE SUNY MARITIME FOUNDATION The SUNY Maritime Foundation, Inc. was established expressly to serve as the legal custodian for all donations to the College. It is an IRS-registered, 501(c)3, non-profit organization, and its sole legal purpose is to support SUNYMaritime College. While the Foundation is staffed by the College’s development and finance teams, it has a volunteer Board of Directors who set policy and provide independent oversight of all gift expenditures. The Foundation can arrange for life-income gifts, endowments, and administer current gifts in support of students and programs. The focus of the Foundation’s fundraising efforts is to provide Maritime College a “margin of excellence” to support strategic initiatives, and provide support to faculty and students, above and beyond what is possible through the College’s annual budget. Some of the most common areas of support include: • Scholarships for Fall, Spring and Summer Sea Terms (both endowments and general donations) • Maritime Athletes and Teams; • Academic Departments, Library Resources, and Faculty Research; • The Waterfront and Boating Resources; • The One Hand Student Relief Fund – providing emergency grants; and • Unrestricted Support – supporting strategic initiatives that advance the College

THE MARITIME COLLEGE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

The Maritime College Alumni Association, is an IRS- registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization with its own staff and independent Board of Directors. The Association recently moved their headquarters to Fort Schuyler where they coordinate closely with the College. Their fundraising priorities are typically focused on: • The Summer Sea Term Scholarship Fund(s), which directly aids students studying for a USCG license • The Underway Fund, which funds the Association’s operating expenses • Other existing Class and Scholarship Funds FORT SCHUYLER SHIPMATES Fort Schuyler Shipmates, an unincorporated Facebook group, is not an IRS-recognized charity, but organizes impromptu fundraising drives using GoFundMe and similar platforms independently of the College. Its informality allows it to respond quickly to perceived needs and giving opportunities. Gifts are organized, collected, and submitted in lump sums or expended independently and are therefore, not tax-deductible for the individual donors nor acknowledged in the College’s Annual Report.

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