A living endowment
The John S. Crosbie Memorial Fund
A permanent source of scholarships, preservation grants, wordplay prizes, and public work in the spirit of the Foundation.
These are the working terms. Final amounts, eligibility, and administration will be set by the Foundation’s governing documents and Board.
The purpose
Make the archive keep making things.
The John S. Crosbie Memorial Fund exists to preserve and advance the art and appreciation of wordplay, humour, language, and creative expression through education, scholarship, historical preservation, public programming, and recognition of achievement.
The fund is imagined as an endowment: principal remains invested, while a board-approved portion of earnings supports awards and programming. A long-term planning assumption is a 3.5–4% annual distribution, subject to the investment policy and applicable rules.
Six ways to help
Choose your kind of mischief.
Each award has a distinct job. Click through for the working terms, who it serves, and what a future application could look like.
The John S. Crosbie Memorial Scholarship
For students whose work makes language matter.
02The Joyce Heitler Award for Women in Wordplay
For a woman whose wit brings joy into public life.
03The Gary Hallock Award for Digital Preservation & Cultural Memory
For rescuing the things the future would otherwise lose.
04The Norm Gilbert Prize for Excellence in Punmanship
No GPA. No résumé. Just language.
05The ISTPF Young Punster Award
A first prize for the next generation of groaners.
06The Order of the Pundits
The Foundation’s honour, rather than a cash scholarship.