A gift of stock worth $25,000 in early 2013, which was given to initiate the Soque Legacy Endowment, has grown to $40,000.

The purpose of the Endowment is to protect the Soque River for decades to come with hopes the fund will grow further in years ahead.

Longtime Soque River Watershed Association board member Roy Lowe, more commonly known as “Rocketroy,” made the founding gift of stocks with the purpose of creating a permanent endowment for the Soque River and the Soque River Watershed Association, which is the organization tasked with its protection.

“I want this organization doing this work for years to come, and I wanted to help kick off a way to support something permanent,” Lowe said. “The river will be here regardless, but whether it’s clean, beautiful and a resource that everyone enjoys is largely up to us.”

The Soque Legacy Endowment is a protected fund, one in which the principal can never be spent, only the earnings or dividends. Contributions to the endowment can be cash, stocks, bonds or personal and/or real property, and the value of such gifts will have permanence, perpetuity and be professionally overseen. The endowment gives donors to the SRWA a way to make a lasting commitment to the Soque River in addition to annual gifts and memberships.

The initial donation of stocks increased in value by roughly 60 percent in 2013.

For more information on the Soque Legacy Endowment, visit www.soque.org or call 706-754-9382.