CREATE THE FUTURE

Endowments are often referred to as “everlasting gifts” and are an especially rewarding way of giving. Only the income from the endowment can be spent on an annual basis with the principal invested to both provide current income and growth over time. The investment return is used to support and sustain the work of the Children’s Treatment Centre while the appreciation or growth is left with the principal. Over time, the investment’s performance would be able to provide annual income that exceeds the amount of the donor’s original gift.

You can create an endowment in several ways. You can do it all at once by making a major gift of cash or marketable assets, or you could make all the arrangements now and fund it with a deferred gift such as a bequest or life insurance policy. Often a family will set up an endowment in the name of a loved one and contribute to the fund over a number of years. Contributions to endowments are eligible for tax receipts in the years they are made. Minimum dollar thresholds may apply to establish an endowment.

There are three different types of endowment funds:

• Unrestricted Funds – allows you to make a gift to the Foundation and the Foundation, with input from the Centre, provides annual grant(s) from the fund to where it is needed most or where it will create the greatest impact
• Donor Designated Funds – allows you to make a gift to the Foundation and be involved, when the fund is established, in designating the grant(s) from your gift to a specific purpose, then have it managed on your behalf by the Foundation
• Donor Advised Funds – allows you to make a gift to the Foundation and then remain actively involved each year in suggesting uses for your gift

We recommend you engage your financial and/or legal advisor to help create your endowment with the Children’s Treatment Centre Foundation of Chatham-Kent. We can help explain how endowment funds are invested, managed and used.

Foundation Establishes “Children’s Chrysalis Fund”

The Children’s Treatment Centre Foundation of Chatham-Kent has established its first permanent endowment fund, the “Children’s Chrysalis Fund.” 

“The Centre’s board and management team are challenged by the fact that core funding from the Ontario Ministry of Children and Youth Services has remained flat for several years while costs continue to escalate,” say Mike Grail, Foundation Board Chair.  “The resulting imbalance compromises the therapists’ ability to serve children with physical, developmental or communication needs to the degree that they require, particularly in frequency of service.”

As the Children’s Chrysalis Fund grows over time, the interest accumulated will help offset some of these shortfalls and stabilize the Centre’s staff and programming requirements.  Ultimately, through the generous support of benefactors in the community, the fund will sustain the kind of enhanced programming requested by the families and needed by the children.

“A chrysalis, of course, is the pupal stage in the lifecycle where the caterpillar transforms over time into a butterfly, and the insect’s full potential is realized,” says Art Stirling, Foundation Executive Director.  “This is an excellent analogy to the work that our therapists perform every day with children in our community who have developmental challenges.”