Endowment Funds Bear Fruit

Dear Friends,

You hear us talk about endowments all the time—they are the main ingredient (a.k.a.: the secret sauce) to our recipe for a greater tomorrow in Noble County.Endowment is just a fancy word that means your gift will last forever.

Remember Johnny Appleseed? He got his endearing moniker by generously giving struggling frontiersmen the gift of apple seedlings. This American pioneer knew the settlers needed apples to support their homes and families. This knowledge ensured that His gift would last forever.

The simple act of planting seeds today so they can produce fruit tomorrow is a tale as old as Johnny Appleseed. That’s why endowments are so powerful!

Consider this modern-day example. Imagine that a local couple, Mr. and Mrs. Charles and Elizabeth Smith, started an endowment named after their family when the foundation began in 1991 with a generous donation of $500,000. Just 31 years later the Charles and Elizabeth Smith Endowed Fund would have granted a total of $843,607 and their fund would currently be valued at $687,470. Additionally, every charity that the Smith’s loved gets a gift from their endowment annually—forever. Now imagine if that original donation of $500,000 had been given all at once, directly to the charities. It’s likely that their entire donation would be gone by now. But, because they planted endowment seeds, Charles and Elizabeth’s fund will produce grantmaking fruit as long as apple trees grow in Indiana.

It’s because of endowed investments like this that many charities receive yearly grants to support their missions from the Community Foundation annually. And it’s because of Johnny Appleseed’s benevolence to struggling pioneers that we’re able to able to share this delicious Apple Crisp recipe with you today. That’s the power of endowed giving!

Are you sowing seeds that will bear fruit? Call us, we can help you with a wise philanthropic investment that will last forever.
Margarita White, Program Director and Donor