Report of the Committee on Development
for the Year Ending June 30, 2000

In the past decade, Sigma Xi's development effort has shown gratifying progress, raising nearly $10 million to help further the Society's goals and become a more active voice for the research community. That figure includes contributions of more than $2.1 million to the Grants-in-Aid of Research program, lending a helping hand to young scientists and engineers early in their careers.

Fund-raising continues to provide vital programming and operations support, with grants and contributions to the Society totaling more than $1,270,000 for the fiscal year that ended on June 30, 2000. Approximately 4,350 Sigma Xi members and friends made more than $238,000 in unrestricted contributions to annual giving, which represented the most generous outpouring of support in the 10-year history of the program. There were approximately 600 more contributors to the annual giving program in FY 2000 than in the previous fiscal year. Eighty-one are members of the 2000 Companions Club, making gifts of $500 or more during the past fiscal year.

The David and Lucile Packard Foundation was a major contributor to our overall success last year, with a grant of $571,000 to fund a pilot project aimed at promoting the formation of new Sigma Xi chapters overseas, particularly in developing countries. The Packard Initiative has provided a new focus and the resources with which to expand Sigma Xi's international network of chapters, and we are grateful to the Foundation for this timely and generous support.

In FY 2000, the National Science Foundation provided a grant of $146,000 to fund pilot Sigma Xi chapter workshops and activities related to systemic undergraduate science, mathematics and engineering education reform. This is an outgrowth of Sigma Xi's longstanding interest in science and engineering education. Undergraduate science education reform was the focus of the 1999 Sigma Xi Forum in Minneapolis and will likely be part of an ongoing program under the auspices of the Sigma Xi Center. Many Sigma Xi members and staff worked together to make this program a success.

Sigma Xi's Grants-in-Aid of Research program received more than $177,000 in voluntary contributions from members and friends. Through this program, established scientists and engineers have provided a helping hand on the road to discovery to well over 25,000 young researchers since the program began in 1922.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Burroughs Wellcome Fund made commitments of $25,000 each in support of the 2000 Sigma Xi Forum in Albuquerque on new ethical challenges in science and technology.

In the latest in a series of contributions, the John P. McGovern Foundation provided a generous grant of $25,500 to further underwrite Sigma Xi's annual John P. McGovern Award for Science and Society.

Our communications efforts during the year continued to give the Society a strong, cohesive image, which helped further our fund-raising goals. Perhaps foremost among these was the 1999 Annual Report, which offered a good overview of the organization and also provided a way to recognize those who generously supported the Society during the year. The annual report and other printed materials, as well as various upgrades to the Web site, have been valuable in promoting Sigma Xi's goals and interests.

This past decade has seen Sigma Xi's development program grow into an indispensable source of new resources for the work of the Society. With the continued support of members and friends, Sigma Xi can look forward to an increasingly important role in scientific affairs in the years ahead.

Lawrence Kushner, Chair, Development Committee
George Bugliarello
William A. Lester
William F. Little
Raymond P. Lutz