The Endowment Fund (or Operating Endowment Fund) was established in 1997 to provide a source of unrestricted income to cover some of the annual operating expenses of the Institute, including a portion of salaries, office overheads, publication of the CIG Bulletin, the lecture series, and incidental one-time expenses. This is the most important Fund established by the Institute to ensure that CIG has the necessary resources at its disposal for all contingencies.