What is an endowment? It is a gift that is invested and kept for good, so that only what it earns is ever spent. If you have been wondering whether $10,000 given to a cause gets used up this year or keeps working after you are gone, an endowment is the second kind.
The word gets used for Harvard’s billions, but the idea works at a much smaller scale. At the Miami County Community Foundation, an endowed fund starts at $10,000, and that is enough to pay a local scholarship every spring.
This guide walks through how an endowment works, using real numbers from a real community foundation. You will see what a $10,000 fund makes available, how it differs from a one-time donation, what an endowed scholarship is, and how to start an endowment of your own. It also