29 Oct 2012 Future Fund of Faulkner County forming
The Faulkner County office of the Arkansas Community Foundation wants to welcome the next generation of philanthropists through the creation of the Faulkner County Future Fund.
A Future Fund is a way for young professionals to give back to their communities, without a great wealth or time commitment. Members pool their charitable dollars and decide as a group how to use the shared funds to help local charitable causes.
“When you join the Future Fund, you get to meet other young professionals who share your interests, learn about needs in our community and take an active role in finding solutions,” said Julie LaRue, executive director of ARCF/Faulkner County. “And because your contribution is invested in a permanent endowment, the money you donate now will continue to grow and benefit our community when your children and grandchildren are in their 20s and 30s.”
Group members around the state have discovered that the Future Fund is less about their financial contributions than about their long-term support for the community. The Future Fund mission is not just to raise money, but to engage a younger generation of givers and educate them about what an endowment is – and what philanthropy is.
“The Future Fund is a giving circle… giving circles bring individual givers together to collectively identify and support the charities and causes of their choice. The benefit of a giving circle is that small amounts of money are pooled to make much larger investments for greater impact, and group intelligence is leveraged to make smarter giving decisions.”
Individuals ages 21 to 40-something who would like to learn more are invited to the Faulkner County Future Fund kickoff at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 13, at the home of Don and Angela Greenland, 4640 Bay Hill Drive.
“As we launch Future Fund, we have a matching opportunity that will possibly double initial contributions,” LaRue said.
For more information, call 501.269.8935or email [email protected].
“We also encourage you to take a look at our website, arcf.org, and click on local offices/Hot Springs Area. Theirs was the first Future Fund in our state, and there are a lot of FAQs that will tell you more about how it is working there in the Hot Springs area,” LaRue said.
A couple of quotes from leaders of the Hot Springs Future Fund:
“Most people my age don’t have $10,000 lying around to start an endowment of their own. I like the concept of being able to take our pooled membership dues and bring them together to build an endowment,” said Dr. Lance Porter.
“This group appeals to 20-, 30- and 40-year-olds who are in the middle of raising families, working 40 hours a week and living on tight budgets,” said Amy Johnson.
