Annual Report - 2007
To Our Friends...

The generosity of people who call the Permian Basin their home continues to richly nourish our communities in profoundly important ways – for today and for the future.

Now in our 20th year, Permian Basin Area Foundation has developed significant partnerships with donors in the advancement of permanent philanthropy in our region. We are pleased to share with you this Annual Report, which contains just a few of the many stories that illustrate our role in philanthropy.

As we look back on 2007, we are delighted to report some of the highlights:

• Total assets of the Foundation grew to $58.1 million, a 28% increase over the previous year-end assets of $45.4 million. Contributing to reach this new milestone were significant gifts to endowed funds, including a very generous estate gift which is receivable over time, and a return of more than 9% on the Foundation’s investment pool.
  
  
• The Foundation was named as the primary charitable beneficiary of the estate of Ms. Dollie Ruth Neal Ballenger, who died in January 2007. With proceeds from her estate, this field of interest endowment will provide the Foundation with significantly increased grantmaking capacity.
  
  
• Under the banner of the TRIAD Fund, approximately $3.0 million was granted during the year to nonprofit organizations throughout west Texas for services to our military service members who have served in Iraq or Afghanistan and their families. The Foundation’s other grants and scholarships were $2.3 million, bringing the Foundation’s total grants and scholarships in 2007 to more than $5.3 million.
  
  
• The Foundation’s services were expanded in Andrews, Jeff Davis, Martin, and Ward Counties, with new endowed funds designated by donors for each of these communities. Working with leaders in rural communities to nurture new partnerships in philanthropy is a priority of our growth and development plans.
  
  
• The Generations leadership curriculum was developed by the Nonprofit Management Center and initiated with funding of local foundations and charitable trusts. This program, now in its second year, trains participants with knowledge and skills necessary to be effective members of community nonprofit boards.

The Foundation serves as a vehicle to promote and develop charitable endowments for our region. As a community foundation, we offer convenient and versatile methods for addressing a variety of charitable interests while sharing the economic benefits of cooperative administration. As a community foundation that is Confirmed in Compliance with National Standards, we offer to donors, nonprofits and communities the assurances that our organization applies best practices of governance and management.

Our goal is to make charitable giving easy and enjoyable. The Foundation offers donors and their advisors services necessary to facilitate the conveyance of a variety of assets. The most common types of gifts to the Foundation are:

• Cash
  
• Securities, such as stocks and bonds
  
• Distributions from retirement accounts
  
• Oil and gas mineral interests
  
• Life insurance proceeds

Such assets may be conveyed during the lifetime of the donor or by a planned or deferred gift beyond the donor’s lifetime. We welcome the opportunity to discuss with donors and their advisors means and methods of achieving any charitable goal.

While reviewing our 2007 Annual Report, we hope you are inspired to use the enclosed reply envelope to support the Foundation’s general endowment or another fund of your choice. If you would like to support a fund of your own creation, we invite you to call on the Foundation to discuss your interests and objectives. We look forward to the opportunity to be of service.

With best wishes,

A.J. Brune III Chairman 2007	Guy McCrary President & Chief Executive Officer	G. William Fowler Chairman 2008