GROW THE ENDOWMENT

HONORING ERNEST KIMME

Ernest Kimme was a long-time VPEF Board Member and life-long teacher. He taught in the district for over 20 years, was the President of the Vacaville Teacher’s Association and also a City of Vacaville City Councilman. Ernest dedicated his life to students and service in the City of Vacaville and in death he continued his mission. Upon Ernest’s death in August of 2015 he made a sizable donation to the VPEF Endowment. When it is all finalized his contribution exceeds $1,000,000 in cash, property and assets for the explicit purpose of  being used in the endowment.

​Every year in September in honor of Ernest we conduct the Kimme Challenge where we challenge the community to donate funds in Ernest’s name to be used for enrichment grants. Over the past 2 years we have had anonymous donors that matched every dollar donated up to $10,000 in Ernest’s Honor.

In 2015 VPEF began offering the yearly “Kimme-Scholarship” in Ernest’s name of up to $2500 for young ladies pursuing their degree in a science, technology, engineering or math field.

GROWTH IS THE ONLY OPTION

Let me save you the Google search and tell you that an endowment is a financial vehicle. Still with me? It is designed to be a collection of money that is invested in order to grow. The income of this asset is used to benefit whomever it is designed for. In this case, VPEF’s endowment is designed for Vacaville Public Education. Education will always be necessary and will always have new needs or trials. Therefore, we need a resource that can also always be available to meet needs, especially during trials. This endowment is a collection of private dollars from devoted citizens and local businesses who realize both the vital nature of education and the brutal reality families, teachers and schools face. VPEF cannot solve all problems, but we can grow this endowment to be a steadfast residual resource.