We caught up with Todd Marinko, chair of the MPI Foundation (MPIF) Global Board of Trustees, last month during the World Education Congress in Las Vegas to learn more about the new foundation initiative to promote planned and legacy giving, appropriately named the FOREVER FUND.

Marinko recalled how the effort germinated with his board predecessors, Carole McKellar of HelmsBriscoe and Chandra Allison of Venetian Resorts. The intent was to harness the community energy around philanthropic endeavors and how that translates to a long-term, sustainable financial effort. Given the backdrop of a global pandemic, his urgent mission was to ensure that support for individuals, chapters and organizations would remain in perpetuity.

While new to the MPI community, the model has been successfully operated through countless nonprofits and universities, allowing the opportunity to create an immediate financial impact and a legacy as people sunset their careers.

Marinko offered some additional insight into the initiative that has been driving him for the past year.

Why a forever fund endowment?

Annually, the MPIF raises money through a variety of campaigns and initiatives and then distributes those funds based upon applicant requests supporting various programs. The effort, while successful, is difficult to sustain each year. Simply, we lacked a long-term, sustainable giving platform.

We expanded our focus to building philanthropic investment options for corporations, chapters and individuals that wish to fund programs in perpetuity, creating a legacy for themselves in the MPI community and our global industry.

Doesn’t the MPIF already have an endowment?

We do! We have been fortunate to tap into the MPIF Endowment to fund over 3,000 individual member scholarships since April 2020. It remains a critical financial asset supporting our industry efforts. Annually, profits from specific MPIF events (e.g., Thought Leaders’ Summit) are channeled to the MPIF Endowment. Our intention remains to grow that principal to support all MPIF operations in the near future.

Having said that, the FOREVER FUND Endowment has facilitated a call to action for a legacy platform that provides specific utilization for donors.

How does the FOREVER FUND work, and who manages it?

Forever fund endowment donations are a pool of financial assets under general or named endowments for a specific purpose according to the restrictions of its donors.

Similar to a college endowment, a “named” forever fund endowment is established through a current asset transfer or planned giving, which includes bequests, cash, trusts, life insurance, IRA or a diverse list of financial assets available today or in the future.

The principal donation grows over time, allowing the MPI Foundation to use the annual investment income for specific programs determined by the donor, forever. That is where sustainability comes in.

Morgan Stanley manages the funds under the direction of the MPIF Endowment Committee.

If a chapter creates a forever fund endowment, does it disqualify chapter members, or the chapter, from applying for other scholarships or grants?

No. Establishing an endowment by a corporation or chapter does not exclude that employee or chapter member from accessing any other scholarship or grant where the application criteria are met.

Is there a minimum amount to create a named forever fund endowment?

Any individual, chapter, or organization can create a named endowment with a negligible amount. However, with endowments, only earnings can be distributed. The larger the donation, the greater potential for higher earnings and more significant distributions.

To create immediate impact, we are asking for $25,000, allowing it to achieve some investment income to share in 12 months.

Learn more at mpifoundation.org/foreverfund.