How to Establish an Endowment with the PEF

An endowment is a monetary gift, intended for long-term support of PEF objectives, derived from investment earnings of the endowment’s capital funds. When you establish an endowment, your gift is invested with two goals in mind: to provide spendable income for whatever specific purpose you have designated and to make the principal grow with time. Any investment return over allowed spending and fees is channeled back into the fund to increase its capital value.

A gift of this sort leaves a long term impact while the principal remains in tact. While traditional gifts can be spent to accommodate program or day-to-day costs, an endowment provides a corpus of funds that will continue to bear interest and still have an impact on a cause that is important to the donor. Endowments are a tremendous way to honor a life or a career of someone who made a tremendous positive difference in Pasco schools or in an individual student’s life.

Simply put – annual giving helps support continual operations, while endowed giving creates building blocks for long-term growth. Many donors who create endowments also participate in annual giving. Both types of giving are critical to the Foundation’s success, but an endowment is unique as it offers long-term growth and helps sustain a Pasco Legacy.

Your endowment will be set up in a separate account within the Pasco Education Foundation to carry out the purpose specified by the donor in the gift agreement. Endowments are invested long-term in an investment pool overseen by the Board of Directors.

The Pasco Education Foundation currently manages endowments that fund scholarship opportunities. If you have something else that you would like to endow, such as Arts, Music, Sports or something unique, please set up an appointment with a representative of the Pasco Education Foundation. The endowment purpose will then be approved by the Board of Directors. The minimum amount to establish an endowment is $25,000; this can be established at once, or over a maximum of 5 years.

An administrative fee may be charged annually as described in the PEF Investment Policy. This fee covers administrative support of the Pasco Education Foundation which includes donor recognition, website maintenance, and adhering to all the necessary IRS and State of Washington non-profit requirements.

Your endowment will be invested with the objective of achieving intergenerational equity while providing for a reasonable spending allocation to support the endowment’s purpose.