On May 6, Fenner Conservancy will launch into our largest endowment match campaign to date in partnership with Peggy and Jack Roberts.
Peggy Roberts has committed her time to Fenner Nature Center as a volunteer, her support as a member, and her leadership as a director and later president of our Board of Directors. Having invested so much of herself in our past and present, her husband Jack found it fitting to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary with a remarkable gift honoring Peggy’s legacy at Fenner and ensuring a sustainable future for an organization dear to her heart.
For every $50,000 raised by YOU, our community, for Fenner’s Endowment, the Roberts will match it with another $50,000, doubling the impact of every dollar given today. And because your gift and the Robert’s match will go into an endowment fund, every dollar will continue to positively impact the organization for years to come.
HOW ENDOWMENT WORKS
A donation to an endowment is called a ‘capital gift.’ Organizations like the Capital Region Community Foundation make investments with that capital gift on the endowment holder’s behalf– in this case, on Fenner’s behalf. Those investments accrue interest and gains through investment in stock options.
Your original gift stays in the Endowment Fund, but those gains your gift earns are returned to Fenner each quarter and can either be reinvested as capital or dispersed to support the ongoing needs of the organization. That means, your gift will continue to be an ongoing source of income, bringing sustainable funding to Fenner Conservancy.
HOW THE MATCH WORKS
For every $50,000 raised by supporters like you for Fenner’s Endowment, Jack and Peggy Roberts will donate match it with another $50,000. That’s right, 50:50.
YOUR GIFT’S LASTING IMPACT
Donating to Fenner’s Endowment is the single most impactful thing you can do to ensure the future for Fenner Nature Center. With your gift and the Robert’s match generating sustainable funding, you are ensuring that the programming and services Fenner Conservancy provides can continue serving the more than 60,000 people who visit the nature center each year.
While the park itself is owned by the City of Lansing, and the city offers great support for the work done here, the park’s programs like Annie’s Big Nature Lesson and Fenner Nature Day Camp, events like the Maple Syrup Festival and the Apple Butter Festival, staffing and operations are all funded by the nonprofit, and are only possible because of supporters like you. So thank you for considering a gift to our Endowment Fund.
Because of the generosity of the Roberts, if you were to make, for example, a $2,500 gift to the endowment today, in just five years, that gift has the potential to produce a result of over $6,000 in support for the nonprofit. And that’s just in five years. Your gift will continue to produce gains year after year.
HOW TO DONATE
For your donation to count towards the 50/50 Endowment Match Campaign, you must donate directly to Fenner’s Endowment online or by mail.
To donate online, click HERE. This link will take you to directly to Fenner’s Endowment page on the Capital Region Community Foundation’s website.
- Select “Donate Once.”
- Type in the amount you would like to donate.
- Under the “Donation Designation,” double check that “Fenner Conservancy Endowment Fund” is selected.
- If you would like to remain anonymous, check the corresponding box. Otherwise type in your name(s) as you would like it to be listed in our newsletter and on our website.
- If you would like to make your gift in honor of or in memory of someone, please check the “Yes” box and type in their name(s) as you would like it to be listed.
- Click the “Continue to Payment Details” button at the bottom of the page and finish the transaction.
To donate by mail, make checks payable to “Fenner Conservancy Endowment Fund” and mail to the Capital Region Community Foundation, 330 Marshall Street, Suite 300, Lansing, MI 48912.
Your donation to the Fenner Conservancy Endowment Fund is tax deductible, and you will receive an acknowledgement to provide your tax accountant in the year that your gift is made.