Godfrey Wells Stancill Fellowship Fund

Nancy and her father, Godfrey Wells Stancill, in 1994

The Godfrey Wells Stancill Fellowship Fund was established within IRE's endowment by IRE board member Nancy Stancill, with the help of her family. Since December 2004, they have raised more than $20,000 in memory of Nancy's father, Godfrey Wells Stancill, former editor and publisher of the Suffolk (Va.) News-Herald. With the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation match, the fund now stands at more than $30,000.

Godfrey Wells Stancill, who ran the News-Herald from 1968-81, died in 1995. He won many awards for his News-Herald editorials from the Virginia Press Association. After his retirement, he served as a longtime columnist for the newspaper. Mr. Stancill served on the board of the state press association in the 1970s and was president of VPA in 1980-81. A World War II veteran, he was active in the civic life of Suffolk, Va. He loved gardening, Tar Heel athletics and spending time with his children and their families.

The Godfrey Wells Stancill Fellowship will be awarded annually to a journalist working for a newspaper with Sunday circulation under 50,000. The fellowship will cover the costs of sending the journalist to IRE's annual conference, beginning with the Fort Worth/Dallas conference on June 15-18, 2006.

Nancy Stancill is one of five children of Godfrey and Phyllis Stancill. She and other family members established the fellowship to coincide with IRE's Breakthroughs drive to create a $5 million endowment.

"Our Dad loved running a newspaper and he strongly believed in the power of journalism to make a community better," said Nancy. "We believe this fellowship with IRE will honor his ideals and the great work he did throughout his life."

Anyone wishing to contribute to the fellowship may donate to the IRE endowment and write "Stancill Fellowship" in the donation note.

If you would like to create a similar scholarship fund in honor of someone close to you, please contact IRE development officer at 573-884-2222.

Anyone wishing to contribute to the fellowship may donate to the IRE endowment and write "Leonard Scholarship Fund" in the donation note.

How to donate to IRE's endowment:

  • Download a PDF form to mail or fax
  • Contact development officer at 573-884-2222.
  • Online donations currently not enabled

How do I contribute to IRE?

If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation to IRE, follow these easy directions:

To contribute by check, please mail your donation to:

  • Investigative Reporters and Editors
    Attention: Heather Feldmann Henry, Fiscal Officer
    141 Neff Annex
    Missouri School of Journalism
    Columbia, MO 65211

To make your donation by credit card, or to download a donation form, please visit our contributions page: http://www.ire.org/donate/contribution.html


IRE would like to thank the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation for its generous support of IRE programming and the IRE endowment fund. To read more about IRE's Knight Foundation challenge grant that ended on Sept. 30, 2008, please click here.

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