Wildc/kat Endowment goal is $400,000

The fundraising goal for the Wildc/kat Athletic Endowment Association this year is $400,000. The long-range goal is $1 million.

Interest from the endowment goes to support athletic activities at Columbia Falls High School. The nonprofit had a ending fund balance of $380,000 for 2013.

The main fundraising events for the endowment are the Heritage Days auction and barbecue, to be held behind the Columbia Bar on Nucleus Avenue this year on Friday, July 25, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., and the Heritage Days golf scramble at the Glacier View Golf Course, to be held this year on Sunday, July 27, with a shotgun start at 9 a.m.

The endowment has received about $48,000 in memorials, $35,000 in annual solicitations and $297,000 from fundraising. Donors are recognized in a display in the high school gym foyer (monetary amounts are not shown).

The endowment has paid out about $15,000 for student-athletes’ “pay to play” expenses, $12,000 for equipment, $11,000 for faciltiy improvements and $7,000 for uniforms.

Using an anonymous donation, the endowment sponsored a specialty Wildcat Country license plate designed by Aric Tarr. The license plate can be purchased for $20 at the Department of Motor Vehicles office in Kalispell with an annual renewal fee of $20.

Decisions on how interest on the fund will be spent each year is made by an advisory committee. Current members are Kim Cheff, Kyle Johnson, Gary Luce, Bruce Adams, Lorinda Walter, Jana Fields and Don Dorlarque.

For more information, call Cheff at 249-0634, Fields at 253-9549 or Luce at 897-2231.