Senior Community Centers

Endowment Gifts

Have you considered establishing an endowment fund or making a gift to the existing Senior Health Preservation Fund? It's a powerful way to perpetually support our programs and services while realizing tax benefits for your kindness.

How It Works
An endowment is simply a method of allocating certain gifts to an investment fund. This fund is invested to earn income each year, and as the principal grows, so does the income. The fund income is used to provide operating support, but the principal always remains invested in order to perpetuate the fund.

When you make a gift to our endowment fund, it can be outright or deferred. Either way, your gift can turn into a legacy of annual gifts long into the future.

Suppose you'd like to make sure we receive $1,000 every year after your lifetime. Let's say we spend 5 percent of our endowment each year. This doesn't mean the fund earns a total return of only 5 percent, only that we spend that amount; we will reinvest the difference to offset inflation.

To calculate the amount needed to perpetuate your gift, divide the annual gift amount, $1,000, by 5 percent, and you get $20,000. So, contributing just $20,000 can continue your $1,000 annual gift indefinitely!

If the value of the endowment fund grows beyond the spending amount of 5 percent, so does the income. For example, with a total return of 10 percent in one year and with only a 5 percent spending rate, the other 5 percent is reinvested. By the second year, the value of the fund is 5 percent higher, or $21,000, and the "gift" from the fund is $1,050.

The Possibilities
Senior Community Centers’ primary strategic goal is ensuring a safe and secure future for the thousands of seniors we serve each year. By 2030, the number of Americans aged 65 and older will more than double to 71 million, comprising roughly 20 percent of the U.S. population. The fastest growth will take place in the 85+ age group, many of whom did not expect to live so long and face the possibility of running out of money to support themselves in later years. This will increase the demand, not only for our programs and services, but for many more affordable senior housing projects.

Endowment funds ensure the future of our mission and enhance our opportunities our ability to provide more programs and services as it becomes necessary. They also allow you to leave a legacy with us.

Email Donna Pippins or call her at 619-235-6572 ext. 308 for information and to determine minimum gift amounts associated with this type of gift.