Endowment Giving
How will your gifts impact programs?
When you make a gift to Harmony Foundation, you can choose to give for immediate program use or for long-term sustainability of Harmony Foundation. Both types of giving are critical.
Annual fund gifts make an immediate impact by providing operational support now. Annual gifts from President’s Council, Ambassadors of Song and Key Voices members are immediate program gifts. We hope that donors will continue to renew their support year after year. Ideally, in addition to annual support, you will also consider making contributions to our endowment fund.
Endowment gifts are critical to Harmony Foundation maintaining its relevance and mission because the full value of the endowment remains intact forever. Gifts to the endowment are invested, and Harmony Foundation receives the interest earnings to use in supporting programs that enrich lives through singing. HFI’s endowment remains in perpetuity so your gift can have impact for generations to come.
Ever dreamed you could give a gift that keeps on giving?
A financial endowment is a donation of money or property to provide ongoing support for an organization through the donation’s investment income. Once established, an endowment has two purposes: to generate income for today’s programs and to grow in principal providing more income for future program sustainability and growth. Through the power of endowment, your gift can grow over time while making grants to accomplish good things now, and for years to come.
Endowed funds are permanent, creating a pool of charitable dollars that can always address the needs of our singing community. For non-profit organizations like Harmony Foundation and your district and chapter, endowments are important to sustain and grow funding that will meet an increasing demand for our collective social impact. This is equally important to districts and chapters, the Foundation and the Society to enrich lives through singing today and keeping the whole world singing for generations. Working together today, we can secure that financially through endowments. Your investment can still be changing lives 100+ years from now…that’s incredible!
How do endowments work?
Endowments are established by a single contribution or the sum of many contributions to create a fund that supplies both the donors and the recipients a vehicle dedicated to providing a steady stream of income each and every year, in perpetuity. The principle stays intact forever and is invested to generate income. All of our endowment Funds are invested by our Investment and Finance Committee with an eye to steady growth so that the Funds can accomplish the goals that the donors intended. Only the earnings are spent for designated purposes like operations and programs. The earnings also help mitigate donor volatility or governmental and political changes that affect and may endanger non-profit entities.
How about a real-life example?
The Grand Central Red Caps Endowment Fund established by Dr. Bart and Audrey Campbell will fund opportunities for people of color to access a variety of singing programs by removing or reducing financial barriers. Harmony Foundation can raise $2,500 every single year to dedicate a few scholarships to singing educational programs, but instead, with a $50,000 principle endowment established, the earnings will fund the $2,500 in scholarships every year … FOREVER!
Harmony Foundation has endowments for three main purposes:
1. The General Endowment exists to support Harmony Foundation’s mission. This enables an income stream that supports current programs and operating activities today and into the future.
2. Program, or restricted, Endowment Funds exist to fund donor specified programs such as providing scholarships to singing educational programs.
3. Associate Endowment Funds exist to provide income to other specific singing organizations. Harmony Foundation’s partnership can provide resources that further the impact exponentially.
· How much is needed to establish an endowment fund at Harmony Foundation?
· Why should my singing organization establish our endowment, new or already created, with Harmony Foundation?
· What happens to my singing organization’s fund if the purpose for the annual distribution ceases to exist?
· Can an endowment also be used as a rainy-day fund?
Let the experts at Harmony Foundation International handle your important financial investment opportunities so that the members and volunteers of your singing community can focus on SINGING! Contact us today for more information.