Endowment – Providing Long-term Stable Funding for our Schools

Updated May 2012

What is an Endowment?

The School-Force Endowment is an investment fund where the principal balance from donations is allowed to grow each year and only a portion of the interest/capital gains is used to fund annual operating budgets.  The School-Force Endowment works together with our annual giving campaigns to provide long-term funding and financial security for the educational programs for children in the Belmont-Redwood Shores public school district.  The Endowment is a non-profit fund and all donations are tax-deductible.

How the Endowment Fund works with Annual Giving

Annual Giving focuses on raising money for the needs of the next school year. The Endowment Fund focuses on building savings that are used for many years to come. The goal is to use the interest and capital gains from the Endowment Fund investments to provide additional funds to Annual Giving each year.  After you have made your Annual Giving contribution at the requested per-child level, we encourage you to give to the Endowment Fund, as this will create the long-term financial stability that our District requires.

Why We Created an Endowment

With the current economic outlook, growing education needs, and uncertain funding from state and federal sources, we must finds ways to smooth out our school district funding so we can give more consistent, long-term, and stable financial commitments.  As it grows, the Endowment Fund will provide this consistent source of funding that we can depend on each year. This will allow us to do better long-term planning with the District and fund the teachers and enrichment programs that are so important to the children of our community.

How the Endowment Funds are Invested

The Endowment Funds are invested in a diversified portfolio of mutual funds and money market accounts. Our primary investment goal is capital preservation and growth.  In 2009, the School Force Board approved the seeding of the Endowment from the Annual Fund (4% per year) for the first five years or until it reaches $500,000 in funds. This has been done to show potential donors our commitment to the Endowment and to jump start our investing capabilities.

How the Endowment Funds will be Used

Each year, the Endowment will strive to transfer about 4% of the total Endowment Fund to the Annual Giving Campaign. In a typical year, the Annual Giving Funds are used to help to pay for specific needs of the district including, but not limited to, programs and teachers for reading, technology, music, libraries, and science.  If you would like to review the detailed Endowment policies, please follow this link: SF Endowment Policies.

Endowment Goals

We have a ten-year vision to grow the Endowment to over $10 Million. Every dollar raised is important – and puts us closer to our goal.

Endowment Status

As of Q1 2012, the School-Force Endowment has total assets of $211,162.  The assets are invested conservatively and the current assets allocation is shown.  If you would like further information, please email endowment@schoolforce.org.

How to Donate or Contact the Endowment Team to Learn More

Endowment donations may be received in cash, check, credit/debit card, or marketable securities. For any other gifts, our Investment Committee will work with you to determine whether or not the Endowment can accept the type of gift (examples include: real estate, personal property, closely help securities, time share units, life insurance, etc.).   For all contributions to the endowment fund, please fill in and print the School Force Endowment Donation Form and mail to the address listed below.

To donate by credit card, please click the “Donate Now” button, fill in your information and then indicate that this is an Endowment gift by selecting “Endowment Fund” in the Fund drop-down box.  If you prefer to donate by check, mail your completed and signed form to:

School-Force Endowment Fund
PO BOX 5196
Belmont CA 94002

If you would like to have someone from the Endowment team meet with you to discuss the options, please call us at 650-242-4270 ext 2 or send us an email at endowment@schoolforce.org.

We should all have pride in our Belmont-Redwood Shores Community. Thank you so much for your support!