The term “Endowment” is what sets us apart from other public charities. The Grand Haven Area Community Foundation operates as an endowed charitable foundation. While not every fund that we steward is endowed, it is our main mission to grow our endowment for the perpetual care of our community.
Non-endowed funds, while invested the same as our endowed dollars, are not required to follow our spending policy and therefore may not end up staying at the Foundation forever.
So what does endowment really mean?
It means that when you give a gift to the GHACF, your gift is invested. The principal gift is never spent — only the investment earnings (or a portion of the investment earnings) are used to care for your community. Over time, your gift continues to grow, generating an increasing stream of funding that can support your charitable interest areas. Your gift to the GHACF becomes a permanent source of funding and can create your legacy for giving.
GHACF helps area nonprofit organizations establish and grow healthy endowments. By increasing their steady stream of revenue, organizations improve their long-term sustainability, reduce their dependency on traditional funding sources, and improve their ability to remain impactful during economic downturns.
Growing our endowment at the Foundation ensures our ability to be here, for good, for all, and for ever. It ensures that the Foundation remains a viable funder that can be responsive to current and emerging community needs.
While endowments are not always ideal for all giving strategies, they do serve as an opportunity for you to make a difference during your lifetime and, at the same time, provide for the community you care about for generations to come.
It’s a gift that keeps on giving.
What does this mean for YOU?
It means that when you make a gift to the GHACF’s Greatest Needs Fund, we will pool it with other generous gifts and invest them wisely to forever benefit this place we call home.
You’ve lived here.
You’ve worked here.
You’ve played here.
You are part of this community’s past and present.
By giving to an endowment, you are investing in this community’s future… forever.