Thank you to those who have already donated and to those considering a donation. My family has experienced an overwhelming amount of support during this difficult time, and it means the world to us that people are so willing to contribute to this project to perpetuate the impact my dad had on so many in the industry he loved. While my family and I have been busy grieving our loss and picking up the pieces in the wake of our tragedy, we have also been working on setting up The Kyle David Hamel Foundation (the "Foundation"). For transparency, I'd like to share what that means.
The Foundation has been established as an Arizona nonprofit corporation. This process was aided by my good friend and coworker, Amanda Campa, to whom I'd like to extend a big "thank you." The Foundation is managed by myself, my mother (Terri Hamel), and my sister (Kylee Lucchese). We have applied for 501(c)(3) exemption with the IRS and are awaiting approval. We have established a bank account with Desert Financial Credit Union, a local Arizona credit union and have deposited all of the donations we have received thus far, totaling $2,870 as of January 1, 2024.
We have opened a dialogue with Kansas State - Salina regarding the establishment of an endowed scholarship for aviation and aviation-related students. An endowed scholarship is paid to students annually according to a certain criteria established by the school and the Foundation, with the returns on an endowment "fund" provided by the Foundation to the school. The more money in the fund provided by the Foundation, the greater the annual scholarship pool will be, and the greater the impact the Foundation can have in my dad's name.
Due to the nature of an endowed scholarship, establishing one requires a large sum of money up front, or promised over a period of time (i.e., 5 years). Now that we have all of the pieces of the Foundation properly established (aside from our pending 501(c)(3) application), we plan to raise funds to establish the endowment. To help with this process, I have established this Donorbox page to facilitate donations, spread awareness of our mission, and provide a platform to communicate updates to those wishing to stay informed. To that end, please consider sharing the link to this page with your friends, family, or networks. If you'd like to avoid service fees associated with Donorbox and payment processing services, please consider donating by check made payable to "The Kyle David Hamel Foundation" and sent to 3150 E. Ray Rd., Apt 402, Gilbert, AZ 85296.
Thank you for your consideration and support, and I look forward to creating positive change with your help.