Good News for Idaho

The leaders in education have a growing concern about the expense involved in sending their qualifiers to state competition due to ever-increasing costs. Administrators recognize the increase in participation opportunities for more students, but the money to send them is increasingly more difficult to come by.

The Idaho High School Activities Association (IHSAA) has created a foundation, Youth Endowment for Activities Foundation, Inc. (YEA) whose sole purpose is to pay the travel expenses to schools sending qualifiers to state competition in drama, debate, speech and athletics sponsored by the IHSAA.

Schools participating in the vested program of the Youth Endowment for Activities Foundation will be reimbursed for expenses according to the percentage they are vested when the fund reaches its short-term goal of two million dollars-the fund is more than halfway to the short-term goal.

You can help the schools in your area become vested sooner. If you, as an individual or as a company, contribute to YEA and specifies a particular high school or several schools, be credited with the donation, every dollar donated will be credited to those schools as specified-not a percentage of the donation, but every dollar! Your donation will benefit the school or schools directly by helping to pay its vestment.

Contributions to the endowment from private, public or any source are deposited in an interest-bearing account to serve the YEA member schools forever. The donation is never spent-only its interest.

How Long Will It Take?

If schools must rely on vestment payments solely, it will take 25 years to become fully vested if they don’t receive help from corporations, businesses and the private sector. That time frame could be cut in half or less if the business community will recognize the value of this endeavor and be generous in their giving.

How much does a school pay to become fully vested?

The formula provides that over a 25-year period:

• 4-5A schools pay $2,000 annually for 25 years or $50,000 to be fully vested
  
  
• 3A schools pay $1500 annually for 25 years or $37,500 to be fully vested
  
  
• 2A schools pay $1000 annually for 25 years or $25,000 to be fully vested
  
  
• 1A schools pay $500 annually for 25 years or $12,500 to be fully vested

Once fully vested, expenses to state competition will be covered every year saving taxpayers an annual aggregate sum of approximately $700,000.00.