Boeing donates $50k to WAI’s Endowment Fund

A $50,000 gift from The Boeing Company, in addition to several donations from individual WAI members during the recent 30th Annual International Women in Aviation Conference, has helped the organization to reach its goal of $1-million in its Endowment Fund.

The fund enables WAI to expand the 2020 scholarship program,which will be available online July 1, 2019 (for which applications are dueNovember 12, 2019). At the WAI 2019 conference, 156 scholarships weredistributed to WAI members at every stage of life for academic use, lifestyleenhancement and flight training including type ratings. A total of $875,065 inscholarships was awarded, putting the total scholarships awarded since 1995 tomore than $12-million.

Youth outreach programs organized by WAI, including the annual international Girls in Aviation Day, will also benefit from the growth of the Endowment Fund. Since Girls in Aviation Day started in 2015, every year the attendance and number of worldwide events has doubled with Girls in Aviation Day 2018 totaling 15,200 attendees and 102 events. On October 5, 2019, WAI expects both the number of girls, age 8-17, and events to expand again with the demand for more STEM events focused on attracting more females to the aviation and aerospace industry.