Foodbank launches endowment initiative

If you're going to have money and other assets left when you're gone, it's important to think about the causes you care about and the impact you can make within your community.
You can leave a legacy here at the Foodbank and help this great work continue.
--Harvey, Foodbank Donor & Endowment Board Chair

For 43 years, the Foodbank has been a beacon of hope for families in need. As more food is being distributed and families continue to find hope from our onsite pantries, mobile pop-up pantry and home delivery program, it’s important the Foodbank finds ways to safeguard and sustain its programs and services. One such way is through investment in the Foodbank’s endowment.

“The Foodbank is a safety net for families in our community. An endowment is a safety net for the organization so that it can make it through financial fluctuations,” said Harvey, Foodbank donor and endowment board chair. “Communities will always need food banks — food insecurity is not going away.”

Harvey, retired co-chief executive officer and founder of Main Street Muffins, now known as Main Street Gourmet, began supporting the Foodbank in the early 90s.

Main Street Muffins would donate excess product, ensuring the bakery items weren’t wasted. Soon, he joined the organization’s board of directors and eventually served as the board president.

After his board term expired, Harvey joined the Foodbank’s endowment board, taking the lead role as chair. He is a champion for planning for the Foodbank’s future and encourages people to consider the Foodbank when they’re making their estate plans.

How endowment works

An endowment works like a permanent savings account for the Foodbank. The principal remains invested forever, while a portion of the earnings is used each year to support hunger-relief efforts. This ensures a sustainable, long-term funding source that grows over time.

In 2024, our endowment generated approximately $150,000, providing vital funding necessary to meet increasing demand in our community. Thanks to the generosity of our donors and prudent financial management, the endowment has grown to $5 million. This growing fund ensures donors can support the Foodbank not just today but for future generations. Donors can support the endowment by making outright gifts or through various deferred gifts, such as wills, trusts, life insurance or life-income gifts, such as charitable gift annuities.

Through the generosity and foresight of donors, there will always be a food bank. Whether you are making a onetime current endowment gift or include the Foodbank in your estate plans, your contribution will live on forever, feeding future generations. Your gift to the endowment will have a major and lasting impact.

If you’d like to learn more about supporting the Foodbank’s endowment, or information for including the Foodbank in your estate planning, please contact Debra Hagarty, CFRE at 330.535.6900.