Power of Endowment – By definition, endowment building implies accumulating assets which can be used to endow something; thereby creating an income for someone or something in perpetuity.
The power of endowment is manifested in our lives in many ways, some of which we are unaware. Consider public libraries – many exist today because of the vision and generosity of Andrew Carnegie who established endowments for many of the large, great libraries in the United States which will operate for generations to come.
There is no legal definition of endowment, but we presume that the principle of an endowment will be held in perpetuity and only the income is distributed or spent, at the direction of the donor when the endowment fund is created.
The first endowment fund at the Rancho Santa Fe Foundation was created in 1982, and was the result of the dissolution of a charitable remainder trust which the donors elected to move into The David and Flewellyn Hoover Fund. The initial gift was approximately $250,000, and for the past 30 years, 5% of that fund has been distributed to worthy nonprofits in the San Diego region. There has been no new money added to the fund and today that fund is valued at more than $500,000 and has made grants over the thirty years totaling more than the current value of the fund … this is the power of endowment!
