Sep 3, 2008 -- The alumnae of Stern College for Women and Sy Syms School of Business (SCW) are carefully planting a seed that they will nurture as it grows into maturity over the next 10 - 25 years. A group of alumnae—Evelyn Havasi-Stavsky ’82S, Cali Orenbuch ’85S, Shira Yoshor ’89S, and Aviva Weilgus ’01SB—as well as Stern Board member Doris Travis, have spearheaded the creation of a long-term investment fund, the SCW Future Fund, that will bear fruit over the next two decades. “Alumnae have the opportunity to inspire first class women’s leadership and to perpetuate an enduring commitment to excellence in women’s education,” said Havasi-Stavsky, who is using her financial expertise as global head of the asset finance group at Citigroup Global Markets to help the fund get started. The fund, similar in concept to the YC100 Fund, has an initial target of $180,000 in seed money for Stern College, which the founders hope to reach with contributions from alumnae and friends. The funds raised will be invested and managed by the Investment Committee of YU’s Board of Trustees. “We want Stern alumnae to share in this unique opportunity to secure their alma mater for the future,” said Travis, a former banker herself for 25 years. “We hope to show the next generation what we have accomplished.” Initially, 1,000 shares are available at different levels, from half shares at $90 to 120 shares (at over $21,600), which entitles the shareholder to sit on the fund’s executive board. Board members will collectively decide how to spend the money once the fund matures. “We want to encourage alumnae to think of these shares as gifts to celebrate the birth of grandchildren, anniversaries, bat mitzvahs, and weddings,” said Travis. The SCW Future Fund is a unique way to give to the school as it presents the opportunity for alumnae to drive the school’s future growth, said Havasi-Stavsky, who recently joined Stern’s Board. With a daughter entering Stern in the fall and another daughter planning to follow in a few years, she said it was time for her to begin giving back to her alma mater. “I think that if any Stern graduate thinks about her college years—what Stern’s education did for her as an individual and how it helped her embrace her current community life—she’ll see the value of a commitment to philanthropy, which includes making Stern’s future education even better,” said Havasi-Stavsky.