The Upside to Endowment

May 10th, 2011 by Michael Bussey

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I’ve always enjoy working with Ys on building their endowment development programs and was thrilled that the YMCA of the Prairie (Holdrege, NE) received NAYDO’s 2011 Eagle Award, in part for their work with endowment development.

I know that for many of you reading this, endowment development is one aspect of financial development that rarely gets any of your time or attention. It’s something that you know should be done, but the intensity of operating a YMCA always seems to leave little time for anything else. Plus, there is the realization that the return on your endowment development efforts may not materialize for many years and the hesitancy that comes as you consider launching yet another fundraising campaign.

However, as the YMCA of the Prairie discovered, there is a big ‘upside’ to putting in place an endowment development program, that over time can help to assure the long-term financial strength and programmatic viability of your YMCA, as well as provide significant benefits for your YMCA’s best friends. The good news is that endowment development is a program, not a fundraising campaign, and that it’s not difficult to get started if you follow these five easy steps:

·         Obtain your board’s approval to implement an Endowment Development Program
·         Form an Endowment Development Committee
·         Develop an Endowment Activation Plan
·         Start visiting with your YMCA’s best friends
·         Celebrate your progress at your first Heritage Club Dinner

I trust that you’ll find, as I have, that endowment development can be one of the most enjoyable and fulfilling aspects of your career, as well as assure the future of your YMCA!

Need help in getting started? Just give us a call!