Connecting people who care with causes that matter is the purpose behind the Carlsbad Charitable Foundation, which also is known as Endow Carlsbad.
Community leaders throughout Carlsbad have partnered with The San Diego Foundation to create and sustain a local foundation that solely serves the community of Carlsbad, and to Endow Carlsbad. It is part of The San Diego Foundation's region-wide initiative, Endow San Diego, to inform and inspire San Diegans regarding the benefits of endowment.
Endowments are permanent charitable funds with the requirement that the principal is never spent. The balance of these funds is invested, earning income that is then spent to support charitable works in perpetuity.
Communities that already have joined this effort include Escondido, Rancho Bernardo and Oceanside. The mission of Endow Carlsbad is to improve the quality of life within Carlsbad by promoting and increasing responsible and effective philanthropy.
“The gift is in the giving. If you give to worthy causes, you will get a warm fuzzy feeling,” said longtime Carlsbad resident Knox Williams, president of Endow Carlsbad's board of directors. “I really believe this is going to draw our community even closer together.”
The Carlsbad Charitable Foundation has raised close to $100,000 through fees individuals and businesses have paid to become members. The first 100 members, there already are more than 70, who commit at least $1,000 per year for five years are designated “founders.” Endow Carlsbad also builds its funds by accepting donations of any size.
Half of the money raised this year, which includes a four-to-one matching grant of up to $25,000 from the city of Carlsbad, will immediately go into grant making. The other half is placed in a permanent endowment.
The foundation has two goals to meet by 2012: Furnish Carlsbad with a $5 million endowment that will benefit the community now and forever and provide at least $250,000 in grants per year to benefit organizations and individuals in Carlsbad.
The foundation's focus for 2008 is to provide at least $50,000 in grants for programs and activities that improve the educational opportunities for youth in Carlsbad. Each year, the area of focus will change to support a different Carlsbad cause.
“I am excited about the possibilities we can generate in terms of supporting innovative, new programs or helping expand existing, successful programs,” said Hollyce Phillips, a founding board member of the foundation and chairwoman of its Grants Committee. “The difference that this foundation will make, both short and long term, is something of which we can be proud.”
For more information about Endow Carlsbad or to become a member, call (760) 269-3882 or visit
www.endowcarlsbad.org.