The Kresge Foundation, an independent, private foundation created by the personal gifts of Sebastian S. Kresge, awarded a Science Initiative Grant of $500,000 to the Vatican Observatory Foundation (VOF). The grant, awarded on 9 December 1998, was for the purchase and installation of new equipment designed to stabilize and upgrade the Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope (VATT) and for an increase in the endowment of the VOF for the maintenance and operation of the VATT in perpetuity.

The VOF was required to raise an additional $1,500,000 by 1 December 1999 in order to meet the challenge of The Kresge Foundation Grant. The VOF was further challenged to raise its number of donors from a dozen or so to 600.

The VOF recognized this grant as a unique and significant challenge. The Kresge Foundation wishes specifically to sustain activities that have already demonstrated their effectiveness and where the grant recipients have already raised initial funds before submitting a proposal to The Kresge Foundation. By responding to the challenge of The Kresge Foundation Science Initiative Grant the VOF has stabilized the VATT, increased its endowment fund so as to assure efficient and financially responsible operation of the VATT into the future, and increased the circle of friends who by their benefactions help to support the exciting research being conducted with the VATT.

Since its inauguration in September 1993 the VATT, a joint project of the Vatican Observatory, near Castel Gandolfo, Italy, and The University of Arizona's Steward Observatory, has produced extremely sharp optical and infrared images from a 10,500 foot elevation on Mount Graham in southeastern Arizona.

Its two parts are the Alice P. Lennon Telescope, which has a very fast focal ratio (f/l) 1.8-meter primary mirror, and the adjoining Thomas F. Bannan Astrophysics Facility, which houses the observers' control room and computer stations, office space and living quarters. The VATT is the prototype of a series of new technology ground-based telescopes being developed by The University of Arizona and its collaborators whereby scientists are learning how to utilize very fast mirrors capable of producing extremely sharp images -- tasks critical to the construction of the next generation of the world's largest telescopes.
Given the Vatican Observatory's outstanding record in using advanced technology to conduct innovative research projects, the VOF is committed to moving forward to meet the projected growth needs and secure the necessary funds for this leadership role. The Kresge Foundation Science Initiative Grant has been a significant challenge to helping the VOF meet this goal.