by Jason Warren

Read full PDF

What are endowments, and how can they benefit my community? First of all, endowments are gifts that "keep on giving" forever. Financial contributions to endowments are some of the most treasured donations received by churches, hospitals, community colleges, universities, and civic organizations. The investments are held in perpetuity and provide an integral foundation for the valuable nonprofit organizations that flourish throughout the local community. Hopkinsville Community College faculty, staff, and administrators increasingly rely on the HCC Endowment to support the delivery of quality postsecondary education to the region.

At Hopkinsville Community College, where the primary missions are to change lives and inspire lifelong learning, we celebrate the creation of new endowments and the contributions made to our existing endowments. The HCC Endowment serves a vital role in providing a margin of excellence beyond what public resources can provide. Few people realize that HCC receives less than 50 percent of its funding from state sources. Endowment earnings are used by the community college to address the ever-increasing demands for innovation, creativity, and rapid response.

The HCC Endowment is an aggregation of gifts provided by donors with the requirement that they be held and invested to generate earnings now and in future years to support the donor's intended purpose. Since the principal cannot be spent, and earnings are generated year after year, the endowment provides HCC a significant amount of stability during times of economic uncertainty.

Like HCC, community organizations rely on the flow of annual income generated from endowments to meet their important missions. In the case of the local community college, the HCC Endowment ensures long-term funding for critical needs such as scholarships, academic program support, technology, and library services. For community organizations, endowments can support any community need from beautification to education to health improvements to humane animal treatment. The opportunities to improve the quality of life for future citizens are limitless.

I encourage you to consider endowment gifts to a wide variety of charitable organizations when setting your annual philanthropic priorities. Whether through small annual gifts to already established endowments or via more extensive arrangements made with the counsel of local estate planning professionals, your community will benefit from a strong foundation of endowed funds.

Your generosity toward local community organizations will result in goals attained, potential reached, and lives changed. I encourage you to seek out and learn more about the endowments that sustain the organizations that make a difference in your community.