Alcor has received seven million dollars following final settlement of the estate of a confidential member who was cryopreserved several years ago. The bequest will be divided equally between Alcor’s Patient Care Trust and a new Endowment Fund to be created with a maximum legally allowed annual distribution of 2% per year.
This will double the value of the Patient Care Trust to approximately $7 million, increasing the security of all 100 patients in Alcor’s care. The Patient Care Trust is devoted solely to funding the ongoing biostasis of Alcor’s patients and their eventual revival and reintegration into society when the medical technology to restore them to full health is developed.
Since the new Endowment Fund has not yet been established, the funds earmarked for it will be kept in a segregated account that follows the 2% distribution rule until the Endowment is ready. The choice of a 2% annual distribution was made following extensive discussions among the Alcor Board and respected financial advisors in the Alcor community. The consensus was that a 2% annual distribution is consistent with compounded growth in fund principal over a multi-decade time frame and would best serve Alcor’s long term interests.
This is a marked departure from past Alcor practice, which has been to place windfalls into either the Alcor general or reserve fund accounts. The funds would then be gradually depleted to cover operating deficits, with the hope that an additional windfall would arrive prior to the depletion of funds. Alcor is instead now seeking to eliminate structural operating deficits so that it is no longer dependent upon these unpredictable events. Consequently, this bequest will not make a large difference in Alcor’s budget next year: it will only contribute an extra $70,000. While $70,000 will help close next year’s deficit, it must be combined with other difficult measures. In the longer term, however, this financial discipline will make Alcor a healthier and more robust organization.
Alcor members are encouraged to remember Alcor in their estate planning. Bequests have historically played a large role in the growth and stability of Alcor. The establishment and seeding of a new Endowment with legally-limited withdrawals will provide an avenue whereby members can be confident their contribution will make a long-term difference to the stability and well being of the organization upon whose survival all of our lives depend.
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