exdow:mext fuxd. 



THE Executive Committee of the New York 

 Zoological Society has decided, in order to in- 

 sure the permanency of the Society's work in 

 tlie Zoological Park and in the Aquarium, to es- 

 tablish an Endowment Fund, the income of 

 which will be available for the uses and purposes 

 of the Society; $350,000 are needed at once, and 

 the Committee has determined to ask for six 

 donations of $25,000 each; ten donations of 

 $10,000 each, and twenty donations of $5,000 

 each. The following letter has been prepared, 

 signed by the officers and Executive Committee 

 and was sent out to the friends of the Society 

 in the latter part of February: 



"The Endowment of the New York Zoological 

 Society is necessary to give permanence to the 

 great work which it is conducting for the educa- 

 tion and civilization of the City of New York. 

 The visitors for the twelve months to November 

 1, 1909, are: Park, 1,620,582; Aquarium, 3,739,- 

 133; a total of 5,359.715. 



"The creation out of a wilderness, in the short 

 period of ten years, of a Zoological Park which 

 is unequalled in the world, and the establish- 

 ment of an Aquarium which is also without 

 rival, are unparalleled achievements which are 

 entirely due to liberal appropriations by the 

 City of New York and to the intelligence and 

 public spirit of those members of the Society to 

 whom the management of these great institu- 

 tions has been entrusted. The Society itself, 

 l\v annual contributions of $171,520, and by 

 outright gifts to the Park of $3l6,59J'.60, 

 lias munificently supported these undertakings 

 and loyally stood behind the management. The 

 total annual income from membership dues is 

 insufficient to carry on all the executive, admin- 

 istrative, scientific and artistic work which the 

 Society has contributed to make the Park and 

 the Aquarium the institutions they are. None 

 of this is paid by the City. 



"The Executive Committee has. therefore, 

 determined to raise an Endowment Fund similar 

 to that which makes permanent the work of the 



American ^Museum of Natural History, of the 

 -Metropolitan Museum of Art, and of the Botan- 

 ical Garden. 



"Pending the raising of an Endowment, 

 which should amount to not less than $1,000,000. 

 one hundred members of the Society, in addi- 

 tion to their previous gifts, have enrolled them- 

 selves as Sustaining Members, contributing 

 $4,000 a year for five years, or until such time 

 as the Endowment Fund can be raised. 



"It may be supposed that the other institu- 

 tions of the city as well as the exhibitions in the 

 Park itself, are doing all that should be done 

 toward public education and enlightenment 

 along these lines, but there are three especial 

 grounds for this undertaking by the New York 

 Zoological Society. 



"First. — Permanence of the Society, and 

 thus of the Park and Aquarium, when the present 

 initial enthusiasm wanes through the loss of 

 members. 



"Second. — Scientific Exploration and 

 Publication, such as is conducted by other sim- 

 ilar societies in other parts of the world. 



"Third. — Protection of Animal Life, as 

 the Society's part in the great conservation 

 movement which is going on not only in the 

 United States, but in all parts of the world. 



"You are invited to contribute to Endowment 

 either by an outright subscription, or by a sub- 

 scription conditioned upon the raising of $250,- 

 000 during the coming fiscal year." 



The Committee has the satisfaction of report- 

 ing that up to the present date subscriptions 

 have been received as follows: 



Of the six $25,000 subscriptions needed, two 

 have been received. 



Of the ten $10,000 subscriptions needed, four 

 have been received. 



Of the twenty $5,000 subscriptions needed, 

 eight have been received. 



Tiie Committee hopes that the members and 

 friends of the Society will aid in raising the 

 needed Endowment Fund. 



