With FFC (Foundation Fundraising Campaign) just around the corner, “foundations” and “endowment” terms might not be familiar to new members of YWA. Or maybe you’ve been around for a while but still not clear what our foundation does and how it affects you and our community. I was once in your shoes!
As the Senior VP of Foundation, it’s my goal to not only help manage and grow the foundation but also ensure our membership is knowledgeable of our mission. The more empowered we are, the more of a difference we can make!
Our YWA Foundation is a 501(c)3 organization that was established in 1997. The purpose of the Foundation is to build a financial base for YWA in order to expand the professional development programs we offer our members and to support the growth of our community outreach. Our foundation supports scholarships to women continuing their education, our annual grant to our non-profit partner GEN (Girls Empowerment Network), and to support professional development opportunities for you!
In 2017, we made a decision to start an endowment fund to further strengthen the financials of YWA. By definition, a financial endowment is a legal structure for managing, and in many cases indefinitely perpetuating, a pool of financial, real estate, or other investments for a specific purpose according to the will of its founders and donors.
However, I like to think of it like a 401k. The purpose is to add money and accrue monthly interest on the principle. If we draft from these funds, like a 401k, there is a penalty. However, we then can use the money from the accrued interest. We committed to a goal of contributing $100k to our endowment within 10 years. This would essentially allow us to use the interest towards scholarships – making our money work for us! The best part is, due to such a successful Austin Under 40 Awards in 2019, we were able to reach our goal in just two years!
So why is the endowment important?
- Allows the organization to grow by using fundraising dollars for YWAF mission, grow the investments and get returns on the balance
- Allows the organization to provide scholarships year-over-year
- Allows YWAF to focus on future sustainability in our mission and organization
Fundraising is a part of our mission and strategy throughout the year. Contributions to our foundation come from generous local supporters, Austin Under 40 Awards, One Night in Vegas, and our Foundation Fundraising Campaign. Each year the board will vote on how much we will contribute to the endowment with a minimum commitment of $10k a year.
Will we ever stop fundraising? Heck no! The more money we continue to raise only continues to make our organization stronger and more valued within the community because with these contributions we can further invest in our members, scholarships, GEN and beyond.
If you want to get more involved with fundraising or have any questions, you can reach out anytime to seniorvp@youngwomensalliance.org.
