An endowment is a type of investment. You put money into an endowment fund, the money is invested, and the profit from the investment is available to spend.
In a charitable endowment, the investment profits are given away to a charitable cause.
The cool thing about endowments is that they’re permanent. You only spend the investment profits, not the main part of the account (also known as the “principal”). That means that the principal is re-invested and keeps growing year after year, providing an ongoing source of money to support charitable causes.
YACs raise money to build their own group endowments. As the endowment gets bigger, the YAC group is able to give away more money to charity each year.
A grant is a gift of money for a particular cause. In many cases, an organization will apply for a grant or write a proposal to explain why they need the money and how they will spend it.
YAC members make grants from their own group endowment. Organizations apply for YAC grants, and the YAC group reviews the applications and decides which ones to support.
YAC members learn about philanthropy and smart charitable giving. They research needs in their communities and decide which organizations they want to support.
YACs raise money for charitable causes, and they also volunteer their time.
Recently, YACs in Cross County helped their local community foundation raise more than $10,000 to build an endowment to support hunger relief charities. They wrote letters to ask for support, made presentations to local civic groups and made announcements at their school.
YACs in Carroll County gave money to a program that buys school supplies for kids in need, and they also volunteered their time to help sort and pack the school supplies.
If you’re interested in making a difference in your community, we’d love to have you join us!
Contact Chris Love at clove@arcf.org or 501-372-1116.
We currently have YAC groups in these areas:
Carroll County
Clark County
Columbia County
Conway County
Craighead County
Cross County
Delta Area (Desha and Lincoln Counties)
Fayetteville Area
Greene County
Hot Springs Area (Garland and Montgomery Counties)
Johnson County
Lee County
Monroe County
Ouachita Valley (Ouachita and Calhoun Counties)
Phillips County
Pine Bluff Area (Jefferson County)
Pope County
St. Francis County
Texarkana Area (Miller, Little River, Sevier, Howard and Hempstead Counties)
White County
If there’s not a YAC in your community but you think there should be, let us know! We may be able to work together to get a group started.
Contact Chris Love at clove@arcf.org or 501-372-1116.