AnnuAl RepoRt of Philanthropy2005-2006 Association of Graduates ...

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plAnneD GIVInG
Holly Emrick Svetz Helps USAf Academy
Maintain its Edge
Attending the USAF Academy gave Holly Emrick Svetz an edge in
life that would lead to success in not one, but two careers . In appreciation,
she is now helping the Academy maintain its edge in the
world of academia—and encourages other graduates to do the same .
Svetz, who graduated with the Class of 1980, makes annual gifts to the
Academy and also arranged to support the Academy through a trust .
“The Academy changed the focus of my life,” says Svetz, who
served 10½ years in uniform as an engineer and acquisitions program
manager before going to law school . Today, she is a partner
in one of the East Coast’s largest law firms.
In discussing the value of the Academy to the country as a whole,
and to its graduates as individuals, Svetz notes that federal funding
is not keeping up with current needs . As a result, cadets may one
day find themselves lacking cutting-edge technology in areas such
as biodefense and nanotechnology .
“Donor support helped build the Academy . Several parts, including
the football stadium, were built totally by gifts, and not through
appropriations,” Svetz says .
“It has been that way from the very first days of the Academy, and
it’s something that needs to continue .” Svetz says that her trust was
established primarily for tax purposes, but that she wants a portion
of the money, after she is gone and family is cared for, to go to
“something useful .” That “something useful” is the USAF Academy .
“There was room for a contribution to the Academy,” she says, “and
I do feel that it’s important for people who can give, to give—that
people who can offer their support, should . I feel that obligation .”