Friends of Nachusa Grasslands Endowments

What Is an Endowment?

• An endowment (in this case, an agency endowment) holds financial assets that provide nonprofit organizations with a permanent source of revenue for specific purposes. 
• Endowments create financial stability, as the assets are invested for the long term to provide a perpetual source of financial support. Assets may not be removed from endowments, which protects the donor's intent.
• Endowment assets are managed by a professional manager. Endowments typically pay out an average of 4% to 5% of the principal balance annually.  Payouts may be adjusted to protect the principal.
  

Why Does Friends Have Two Endowments?

• To meet the needs and interests of our supporters, Friends has two Endowments: the Nachusa Grasslands Stewardship Endowment and the Friends Endowment for Nachusa Grasslands. 
  
• Some donors prefer committing their gifts to a highly regarded international organization like The Nature Conservancy. Others prefer committing their gifts to a highly regarded local entity like the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois.

Nachusa Grasslands Stewardship Endowment

• The Nachusa Grasslands Stewardship Endowment was set up in 2009 through an agreement with The Nature Conservancy (TNC).
• The purpose is to support the conservation and preservation of native plants, animals, and natural communities at Nachusa by providing permanent funding of stewardship at the project. TNC solely determines stewardship activity.
• TNC invests and manages the Endowment in accordance with their policies and practices. Annual distributions are determined by TNC.
• Distributions are paid internally to TNC and dedicated to Nachusa stewardship operations.
  
• In the unlikely event that TNC ever chose to transfer ownership of Nachusa to a different entity, the Endowment would go with the land.

Friends Endowment for Nachusa Grasslands

• The Friends Endowment for Nachusa Grasslands, held and managed by the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois (CFNIL), was established in 2014 at the request of donors who prefer local control of their gifts.
• The purpose is to support the Friends' mission to encourage and conduct stewardship, build endowments for long-term care of the project, and support grassland science and education at Nachusa.
• CFNIL invests and manages the Endowment according to their policies and procedures. Annual distributions are determined by CFNIL.
• Distributions are paid to the Friends and used as determined by the Friends' Board of Directors. The 2014 to 2020 annual distributions were directed by the Friends' Board of Directors to TNC to fund operations at Nachusa Grasslands.
  
• In the unlikely event that the Friends ceased to exist, CFNIL would continue to direct distributions to benefit Nachusa Grasslands.

What Are the Endowments' Goals and Balances?

• Our goal for the combined endowments is $3,000,000, which will yield approximately $145,000 per year to support stewardship at Nachusa.
• As of June 30, 2020, the total of our two endowment funds was $2,172,857, so we have exceeded two-thirds of our goal.
  
• For the 2019-2020 fiscal year, distributions from both endowments were about $62,534 and are expected to increase in future years, as the annual payout is typically 4.5 to 5% of each endowment balance, based on historical multi-year balances.
  

How Can I Support a Specific Endowment?

• Donations may be designated to either Endowment on the online or paper donation forms.
  
• Donor gift designations are always honored. 
• Undesignated donations are used as most needed, as determined by the Friends Board of Directors.
  
• Please Contact Us if you have questions about either Endowment or to learn about other giving options, including stocks, bonds, and mutual funds.
  

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Friends of Nachusa Grasslands is featured by the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois (CFNIL), which holds and manages The Friends Endowment for Nachusa Grasslands.

UPDATED 08/2020