Take a noble mission, a small group of smart, dedicated women and a lot of hard work and what do you get? – The 20th Anniversary of the vibrant Atlanta Chapter of ARCS Foundation. This year is an appropriate time to celebrate the accomplishments of the Atlanta Chapter and its founders and to reflect on how the chapter has grown and succeeded over the past two decades.
Growth: Since 1992, the membership has increased from 16 founding members and 20 charter members to the current 146 active and associate members. During the chapter’s first year, members supported three scholars; today, they support 40. Funds required to support awards have grown exponentially from $15,000 in 1992 to $285,000 in 2012—the largest amount in the Atlanta Chapter’s history.
Change: Active fund-raising is now responsible for a major part of Atlanta Chapter's scholar awards funding. In the early years, members’ dues and several gifts from member-related companies and foundations covered scholar awards. No donations beyond dues were expected from members. This year’s awards were made possible, in large part, by the generosity of Atlanta Chapter members: 65 members gave a total of more than $150,000 over and above their dues. Almost all of the remaining contributions resulted from members opening doors to individuals, foundations and corporations that donated to the Scholar Awards Fund.