Endowment Building: Creating a secure future

Lancaster Habitat was selected as a recipient of a $10,000 endowment match through the Lancaster County Community Foundation to help sustain vital programs and services. With funding sources squeezed and the economic environment uncertain, endowment building is a vital piece to our future success in meeting our community's needs. Organizations awarded the matching grant have up to one year to raise the initial $10,000 for a new endowment fund, with the Foundation matching that amount when the goal is reached.

The idea behind endowment is a simple one: a pool of assets is invested and earnings from those investments are paid back to a charitable cause yearly in a fixed amount. Any earnings over the fixed percentage are reinvested to grow the principal. In this way, an endowment fund keeps pace with inflation over time. With reinvestment and the receipt of new donations to the fund, the benefitting organization has a reliable source of income to depend on far into the future.

In tough times, it can be difficult to think long term. But it is the tough times that underscore the need for careful planning. Our endowment fund will supply revenue in years in which donations are down, or charitable need increases- giving Habitat a reliable stream of flexible resources.
We encourage you to consider an outright gift to Lancaster Area Habitat for Humanity's endowment fund or to include us in your estate plans. Please contact Stacie Reidenbaugh at stacie@lancasterhabitat.org to learn more about how you can support Habitat's endowment building efforts to ensure our community continues to revitalize neighborhoods and transform lives by building homes in partnership with families in need.