ADGA Helen Staver Foundation

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 ADGA – Helen Staver Foundation Website

The Name

The Foundation is named after Helen Staver who was a founding member of the Southern Vermont Dairy Goat in 1945.

Helen was an enthusiastic dairy goat breeder raising a herd of Nubians in Marlboro, Vermont.  She, along with co-founder Harlen Covey, helped establish the Southern Vermont Dairy Goat Association as an educational organization dedicated to promoting the dairy goat.

The association was incorporated in 1951 with that specific educational purpose.

Therefore, it is truly fitting that ADGA’s primary educational foundation be named after an individual who highly valued both education and dairy goats.

The Purpose

The ADGA/Staver Foundation is established under the IRS code 501(c)3 as a charitable foundation.

The purpose is to assist in the advancement of education, educational materials, and research by providing scholarships and other support to individuals and programs.

The need for economic assistance by under-graduate and graduate students for education is great, and the Foundation will provide a level of support.  However, the Foundation is much more than just an organization to offer traditional scholarships.

It will work as the charitable arm of ADGA to support dairy goat educational activities and programs that provide educational opportunities and materials.

For example: the Foundation will assist youth through financial support to attend the annual meeting and/or provide funding to assist an individual to attend a judges training conference.

In addition, there is a need for the development and publication of educational materials to benefit the entire dairy goat industry.  However, many times teachers and professors who desire to publish and distribute educational materials do not have the funds to accomplish this task.  The Foundation can provide some support to accomplish this goal.

Difference between the ADGA Research Foundation and the ADGA Helen Staver Foundation

The ADGA Research Foundation has a definite role with concentration on scientific research,  while the ADGA/ Staver Foundation has a greater scope and can provide funds to stimulate and support non-scientific, more educationally focused programs and activities.

  • The Research Foundation primarily awards funding to research facilities upon review and approval of grant application for larger funding level.
  • The ADGA/Staver Foundation provides scholarships to individuals as well as funding to organizations in significantly smaller amounts starting around $500.

Initial Funding and Endowment Goal

  • The initial funding for the ADGA/Staver Foundation was a donation of $5,000 from the Southern Vermont Dairy Goat Association.
  • Another donation of $6,000 was received from the Northeast Dairy Goat Herd Improvement Association when they discontinued their organization a few years ago.
  • Finally, the ADGA board set aside $3,000 for the cost of establishing the Foundation.
  • By a generous gift of time and money, the required filings and fees were donated by Christen Adels.
  • Consequently, the Board approved the contribution of the $3,000 into the Foundation at the 2010 ADGA annual meeting.
  • The goal of the trustees is to establish a $100,000 endowment where the investment returns will fund educational activities.  This level will provide annual funding to support the mission of the Foundation.