Yes, we do! And what is an endowment, you ask? It is a fund that we continue to build up over time with donations from donors who would prefer that their gifts be ‘put to work,’ instead of spent outright.
In your personal finances, part of your income needs to be used to cover your current expenses, but you also strive to put money away for future needs; like retirement, saving for a home or automobile, contributing to a college fund, or a ‘rainy day’ fund to help in times of unexpected need: illness, job loss, etc.
A charitable organization’s finances are very similar. We need and appreciate support from our community to help us meet current expenses; the day-to-day costs of running Empath Health. But when it is fiscally responsible to do so, we also try to set funds aside in a long-term account that will remain invested and grow over time, to help secure our future and help us grow.
The Empath Health Endowment Fund has strict guidelines that govern the use of the funds donated directly to the endowment fund by our community. Only the net earned income can be used, and only if our Board of Trustees votes to approve the use of that net earned income.
Suncoast Hospice Foundation follows our donors’ wishes for the use of their gifts. If you have a specific program of Empath Health that you want your gift to support, that gift will be designated for that use. If you feel your gift is best used for the day-to-day support of our patients and families, then your gift will go to our operating fund. If you would like your gift to go to our endowment fund, just let us know.
You can also include a gift to our endowment fund in your estate plan. Simply use the following wording in your will or trust, or the beneficiary designation for your IRA, retirement account, life insurance policy, investment account or other bank account: “to Suncoast Hospice Foundation, to be added to the Empath Health Endowment Fund.”
For more information on the Empath Health Endowment or leaving a planned gift in your estate plan, please call Karen Van De Putte, Director of Planned Giving at (727) 523-3422.
Authored by: Karen Van De Putte, Director of Planned Giving