Two Men, One Vision
William E. Simon became a fundraiser for the United States Olympic Committee in 1961 and by 1968 was the organization’s national fundraising chairman. Before leaving for government service, Bill recruited F. Don Miller to become the organization’s director of fundraising. In 1973, Don became the USOC’s executive director serving until 1985. Bill returned to the USOC in 1977 as treasurer and in 1981 was elected as its president. Both men shared a dream that one day, the USOC would have an endowment to provide U.S. athletes with a much-needed permanent source of funding; a dream that would become a reality with the 1984 Los Angeles Games.
Together, Bill and Don were instrumental in implementing the arrangement whereby the USOC guaranteed the obligations of the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee (LAOOC) and secured a portion of any surplus generated by the Games for the USOC and its National Governing Bodies (NGBs). The successful outcome of the Los Angeles Games resulted in a profit of a quarter of a billion dollars for the organizations and likely saved the modern Olympic Games.
Simon’s and Miller’s next task was to insulate the USOC’s funds from the inevitable demands of USOC members and administrative overhead, while building an ever-increasing endowment from which annual grants would be awarded for the benefit of the U.S. athletes and sport.
To achieve this, the USOC created the United States Olympic Foundation and designated it as the recipient of the majority of the LA surplus and funds generated by the 1984 Olympic Coin Program. The Foundation was incorporated as a separate legal entity on July 2, 1984, before the Games opened. It is governed by a board of directors: two members from NGBs, two athletes, four from the public sector, the board chairman of the USOC and the USOC CEO.
The U.S. Olympic Foundation (name was changed in 2013 to the U.S. Olympic Endowment) was established with the USOC’s share (40%) of surplus from the LA Games and a portion of the surcharge from sales of Olympic Coins allocated to the USOC (total $111.3 million). This amount is a permanent endowment; only income, based on a total rate of return concept, may be spent. In addition, the Endowment is precluded from doing any fund raising. This was done to avoid any confusion or encroachment on the fund-raising activities of the USOC.
(Effective June, 2019, the USOC's name was changed to the U. S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee / USOPC.)
Together, Bill and Don were instrumental in implementing the arrangement whereby the USOC guaranteed the obligations of the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee (LAOOC) and secured a portion of any surplus generated by the Games for the USOC and its National Governing Bodies (NGBs). The successful outcome of the Los Angeles Games resulted in a profit of a quarter of a billion dollars for the organizations and likely saved the modern Olympic Games.
Simon’s and Miller’s next task was to insulate the USOC’s funds from the inevitable demands of USOC members and administrative overhead, while building an ever-increasing endowment from which annual grants would be awarded for the benefit of the U.S. athletes and sport.
To achieve this, the USOC created the United States Olympic Foundation and designated it as the recipient of the majority of the LA surplus and funds generated by the 1984 Olympic Coin Program. The Foundation was incorporated as a separate legal entity on July 2, 1984, before the Games opened. It is governed by a board of directors: two members from NGBs, two athletes, four from the public sector, the board chairman of the USOC and the USOC CEO.
The U.S. Olympic Foundation (name was changed in 2013 to the U.S. Olympic Endowment) was established with the USOC’s share (40%) of surplus from the LA Games and a portion of the surcharge from sales of Olympic Coins allocated to the USOC (total $111.3 million). This amount is a permanent endowment; only income, based on a total rate of return concept, may be spent. In addition, the Endowment is precluded from doing any fund raising. This was done to avoid any confusion or encroachment on the fund-raising activities of the USOC.
(Effective June, 2019, the USOC's name was changed to the U. S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee / USOPC.)