New Endowment Established

The prosecutorial world is ever changing and the needs of our nation’s state and local prosecutors are changing with it. As the voice of America’s prosecutors, NDAA must have the resources and flexibility to respond to these changing needs—and in the nonprofit world flexibility is synonymous with funding. Currently, our organization is funded through federal and private grants, which are crucial to the organization’s success. NDAA’s potential, however, reaches far beyond the restrictions placed upon it by these grants.

To establish increased flexibility and begin work toward reaching the organization’s full potential, NDAA has established a special endowment fund to provide our programs with unrestricted funds, allowing the development of new and innovative programs and research needed by the prosecutorial community. NDAA will continue to pursue invaluable federal and private funding, however this new source of funding will allow for the development of services without having to deal with the constraints of the competitive bid process or the restrictions and regulations associated with grants.

This endowment fund will be invested in an account that will allow NDAA to use the interest on the investment to provide organizational funding. The principle remain will remain intact. This method of financing will ensure organizational wealth over a long period of time and provide financial security for NDAA.

Last year Grover Trask, former district attorney of Riverside County, California, and chairman of APRI’s Board of Trustees, made the first donation of $100,000 to establish the endowment. While Trask’s initial donation created the foundation for the fund, others have made generous contributions as well. NDAA will continue to seek donations toward our immediate goal of $1 million by the close of 2007. This goal is very attainable, but we need your help.

We are calling on our members to assist us in reaching our endowment goal so that we can establish programs to benefit you and your communities. The source of money for this endowment is right at our fingertips. Asset forfeiture funds and campaign resources are often untapped sources of revenue. NDAA is looking to tap into those resources and turn assets confiscated from crime activity into successful programs for prosecutors to combat these criminal behaviors.

NDAA is asking that you support us in supporting you. We are calling on you, our members and constituency, to research the policies of the asset forfeiture fund in your jurisdictions and make a contribution to our endowment. The larger the endowment becomes, the more programs NDAA can develop to assist you in protecting the safety and security of our nation’s communities. I encourage you to call me if you would like to make a donation or if you have any questions about NDAA’s endowment. I can be reached at 703.549.9222. I am very excited about the possibilities the endowment may create for NDAA’s future, and I look forward to hearing from you about your participation in this exciting new venture.