A $US50,000 gift for horse rescue and rehoming and equine research has been given to the Arabian Horse Foundation from the Barbara Wright Hutton Trust.
A $US50,000 gift from the Barbara Wright Hutton Trust is the largest the Arabian Horse Foundation has received.
It is the largest gift the non-profit entity has received since re-launching in 2007.
"This gift speaks volumes for the message it conveys and represents an investment in the future of the Foundation," said AHF President Larry Kinneer.
"It is a clear indication of a family's belief and trust in the foundation to use their gift wisely. The Foundation board deeply appreciates this major gift."
Wright Hutton lived in St. Louis, Missouri, owned an Arabian and loved horses. her niece, Jackie Johnston, describes her aunt as "a charitable person," and recalls that she "truly enjoyed horses," and was introduced to horses at various camps at an early age. Before her passing in 2008, she urged Johnston, the executor and a trustee of her Trust, to give to worthy animal charities.
"I know my aunt would be pleased to know that her gift will be used for something that meant a lot to her and will make a difference in impacting the welfare of horses," said Johnston, an arabian horse owner and an AHA judge of national and international shows.
Johnston said she hopes that the gift will encourage others to consider the foundation in estate planning and encourage Arabian horse owners to consider the foundation in their will, as well as annual giving.
Wright Hutton's gift assures that funds will be available for outreach to equine rescue and rehoming and to equine research for years to come.
"The more assets we have, the more grants and support we can give to all funding areas of the Foundation," he said. Since the Foundation was re-launched four years ago at the AHA Annual Convention, the board has given away more than $75,000 in youth scholarships and equine rescue and equine research.
Over the last 18 months, more than 225 individuals have donated to the foundation. Many are donating when joining AHA or renewing their memberships by checking the donation box.
"Some are giving $5, others $25 and some $100," Kinneer said. "All gifts, no matter if they are large or small, are extremely important to the foundation as all contributions help us build the foundation's assets, enabling us to give more dollars to those in need. We are making a difference in many ways and with the financial support of our members, we can do even more."
Through grant money from the Foundation, tremendous strides have been made in
Lavender Foal Syndrome and
Cerebellar Abiotrophy research being done at UC Davis and Cornell University. The foundation has advisory panels which accept and review grant applications. "The Foundation board wants to make sure the dollars entrusted to us go to projects and needs that are well-researched and worthy of funding," Kinneer said.
While this is the largest gift in the past four years, the foundation received a $10,000 gift from Iron Horse Farms two years ago which helped establish the
Patrick Swayze and Lisa Niemi Scholarship. The foundation also recently received a gift of $5000 from an Arabian horse owner in Texas who stated she wanted to give to scholarships "to carry out charitable giving for scholarships initiated by my parents."
In the past four years the Foundation has established, in addition to the Swayze-Niemi Scholarship, two others: one in honor of immediate past AHA President Myron Krause, and another in memory of Russ Vento.
In addition to Kinneer, other members of the foundation board are: Lollie Ames, Nancy Harvey, Jim Cada, Frank Galovic and Terry Johnson.