Planning for 2021 & Beyond? Endowments may be the Answer
Endowment Funds may help you bridge the gap between just maintaining your mission or ensuring your mission thrives well into the future.
Legacy giving is increasingly being looked to as a critical component of the funding stream for charitable organizations. Relying solely on current contributions to bridge the gap between revenue and expenses may mean that your parish/school is missing out on gifts that could be made to assist in securing the future of your ministry.
Why should your parish establish and grow endowment funds in the Catholic Community Foundation (CCF):
1. Stability – Get out of the financial trap of planning for and funding year-to-year operating expenses and programs and ministries through the annual offertory.
2. Diversity – Helps diversify the parish’s income and reduce dependency on offertory and excess monies, usually unavailable, to fund ministries, programs, as well as unplanned capital expenditures and maintenance.
3. Stewardship – Good stewardship practice illustrating to parishioners that the parish has a long term plan in place.
4. Legacy – Provides an opportunity for parishioners to make a legacy gift, a gift that keeps on giving well into the future.
5. Long Term Planning & Preparedness – Allows a parish to begin to set goals for the future and to make long-term plans. Example…Establish a goal to fund an endowment that in the future may produce returns that would fund the parish’s annual operating expenses. Or, a common practice, set a goal to establish an endowment that is 3x the annual operating budget.
6. Convenient & Safe – Easy to set up, managed by an independent Board of Trustees as a separate 501(c)3, audited annually, protected from legal liability and investments well managed by the Commonfund, a highly respected company known for its work with non-profits and religious institutions.
Why, wait? Take action now. Just like any savings plan, beginning now can lay the groundwork. An endowment fund can be set up with as little as $1,000.
If you do not have an Endowment Fund set up at the Catholic Community Foundation, now may be the time to do so. Please contact Schattakka Dennis at schattakka.dennis@archbalt.org or 410-547-5352.
If you already have an established endowment fund at the CCF, there are many other ways to encourage legacy gifts, as well as simple techniques to grow your endowment. Contact your Regional Director to establish a program to promote legacy giving. Or, visit our Legacy Resource page for easy to use virtual marketing materials, bulletin and pulpit announcements.
