Building Endowments
By A. Scott DuPree and David Winder with Cristina Parnetti, Chandni Prasad and Shari Turitz | August 2000 | View Full Text | Email Link

Abstract

This is a chapter from the Foundation Building Sourcebook: A Practitioners Guide Based on Experience in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

This chapter looks at the cases of several foundations that have built endowments by taking advantages of opportunities within their national contexts.

Examples
- Local Philanthropy and Debt-for-Development: Foundation For Community Development (Mozambique)
- The Capital Campaign: Puerto Rico Community Foundation
- Debt-for-Nature: Foundation For The Philippine Environment

Summary Points
- Investing time and energy in consultation can build support for an endowment fundraising effort.
- Raising financial support for the fundraising effort itself can be a crucial element of its eventual success.
- Building a track record as a grantmaker will raise understanding and credibility for the effort.
- A good plan and strategy on how the endowment will be invested can convince potential donors to contribute.
- Some foundations develop restricted funds as a service to donors who are concerned about a particular cause.
- One or two significant contributions to the endowment fund demonstrate the feasibility of the effort and can leverage more funding.

Funding for the Sourcebook was provided by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, with additional support from Aga Khan Foundation Canada, the Asia Pacific Philanthropy Consortium, Avina, Inc., the Ford Foundation and the Open Society Institute.

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Foundation-Building & Philanthropic Practices | Resource Mobilization | Foundation-Building & Philanthropy Tools & Sample Documents | Foundation & Philanthropy Case Studies | Africa (Sub-Saharan) | Mozambique | Americas | Puerto Rico | The Philippines | Southeast Asia