When Darrel and Edith Martin received an inheritance from Darrel’s father, they wanted to do something special with the funds.
Initially they explored the option of opening a foundation of their own, but when a friend mentioned Edmonton Community Foundation (ECF), they were sold on the idea of opening an endowment fund instead.
“When we saw the names of some of the other people who had set up funds with ECF, we felt like we were doing a wise thing. We are not rich, but some people have donated millions. These are smart people,” Darrel says. “If they had given to ECF then it gives us comfort. It is a solid foundation.”
One of the most attractive elements is that their donation is invested and a percentage of the fund value supports their preferred causes, while the rest is reinvested to grow the fund in perpetuity. “It’s a great concept,” Darrel says. “It never goes away.”
“When we saw the names of some of the other people who had set up funds with ECF, we felt like we were doing a wise thing. We are not rich, but some people have donated millions. These are smart people,” Darrel says. “If they had given to ECF then it gives us comfort. It is a solid foundation.”
The Martins sat down with Kathy Hawkesworth, ECF’s director of donor services, and discussed what they wished to accomplish with their endowment. This is something that Hawkesworth does with all donors.
“Talk to us. We can make sure we understand what they want their fund to support,” she says.
For the Martins, literacy, health and education were areas near and dear to their hearts and their fund agreement enables them to work closely with ECF to decide which organizations receive support from their fund annually. They also hope to bring their three grown children into their decision making process with hopes that they will continue to work with ECF to distribute the grant money long after their lifetime.
In the meantime, the Martins are continuing to grow the fund. “We want to continue to build it while we can enjoy it and appreciate what it is doing,” Darrel says. “Because of the initial donation, we got a nice tax refund and then funnelled that right back into our fund.” They have also decided to leave a gift to ECF in their will.
One of the reasons they like adding to the fund is that they are “hooked on the feeling” they get when they think about the good their fund is doing. In the first year they were able to designate funds to Atsikana Pa Ulendo (Girls on the Move), a charity that is dedicated to helping young Malawian women achieve self-sufficiency through education. Thanks to their fund, two girls in Malawi are graduating high school and a girl in Mexico will be going to university this year.
“It feels good to give this way,” Darrell says. “We can do nice things forever … it’s a secret everyone should know about.”
If you would like to contribute to this fund visit our secure CanadaHelps page.
