The goal of reaching a permanent endowment of $25,000 is especially ambitious, but it is also critical to the Fund’s future. A fund only becomes permanent within the Central New York Community Foundation when it reaches $25,000. Until then, the fund could be folded into the general unrestricted corpus of the Foundation at anytime, should the Future Fund steering committee become inactive. Once permanent, the Future Fund will exist forever, supporting worthy causes in Central New York and engaging emerging philanthropists according to the principles set forth by our members and donors.

In addition, $25,000 is only the beginning. In order to make a $5,000 grant per year in perpetuity, without the assistance of matching donors, requires a permanent endowment of $125,000. That’s because the Community Foundation’s annual payout rate averages 4% of the total value of any fund.