Endowment Update: Developing a Philanthropic Culture

Originally published in the Summer 2017 issue of NC Currents magazine.

Developing a Philanthropic Culture Within the NC AWWA-WEA Organization is Essential to Building a Sustainable Safewater Endowment Program

By Frank Stephenson, NC Safewater Endowment Chair

Taking Stock of Our Current Endowment Program
Since its creation in 2009, the NC Safewater Endowment Program has awarded and funded 38 scholarships totaling $37,000. We are scheduled to award another 13 scholarships totaling approximately $16,000 in 2017. Each scholarship is currently averaging approximately $1000. The Endowment fund has grown from its initial “seed” allocation of $25,000 from the NC AWWA-WEA to over $400,000 thanks to the continued support and contributions from the Organization and individual donors. The current size of the investment corpus and funding protocols allows a level of annual scholarship giving of approximately $16,000. The endowment’s growth, thus far, can be attributed to the strong support of the Organization and a small cross section of hardworking and dedicated water professionals. In 2016, the Safewater Endowment Committee recognized the need to evaluate the status of the endowment and to take necessary steps to ensure sustainable growth, as well as a funding level necessary to support the education and development of water professionals for generations to come.

How Do We Improve and Build a Sustainable Endowment Program? 

The committee evaluated the attractiveness and popularity of the scholarship program for future and potential candidate recipients, and identified a path forward to grow the endowment to support the demand for scholarships. The committee found that: 1) attracting, retaining, and developing top talent is a top priority in any water industry company or agency; 2) it is necessary to engage our NC AWWA-WEA membership in an awareness campaign regarding the significant and positive impact water professionals have on human life and the environment; and 3), the size and diversity of the scholarships is of considerable importance to the candidate recipients.

Industry studies show – and today’s “new normal” market environment requires – a sound strategy that will attract, retain, and develop top talent in our respective water industry companies and agencies. Most likely this is already a top priority and an imperative strategy for desired success in your company or agency organization.

It can be argued that the water profession is a very noble profession, necessary for the quality of life and the clean environment desired and needed to ensure a sustainable world for future generations. Generally speaking, industries and industry professionals thrive when passion and love for what they do drive desired success and results. Water industry professionals who embrace the importance of their role help to ensure clean and safe water for the world’s population, become effective ambassadors for the water industry, and produce lasting results that raise awareness for everyone involved. This leads to a proactive effort to promote goodwill and human welfare, which is the definition of philanthropy. Creating a philanthropic culture within NC AWWAWEA is an essential ingredient in the overall growth strategy for the endowment. 

Applicants and awarded recipients want more choices and larger scholarships. Studies show scholarships should be in the $2500 – $3500 range in order to compete in today’s market. To this end, the Committee has established a target-level goal of $1M for the Endowment corpus to establish a competitive scholarship program that meets the competitive demands of future generation recipients. A clear vision, mission, and growth strategy is required to guide our efforts to build a sustainable Endowment that will meet these future demands.

In 2016, the Committee developed and adopted a new vision, mission, and growth strategy for the Endowment:

• Our Vision: Develop a philanthropic culture within the NC AWWA-WEA that will inspire all of our members to contribute annually to the NC Safewater Endowment Program.
• Our Mission: Develop and implement a corpus growth strategy that will build a sustainable Safewater Endowment Fund of approximately $1M dollars, capable of allowing for distribution of multiple scholarships with a total value of $40,000 – $50,000 annually.
• Growth Strategies: Providing a mechanism for and creating a philanthropic culture within the NC AWWA-WEA that will result in annual giving by a majority of members and will be the foundation of the growth strategy. Other strategies and actions include annual auctions, fundraising events, partnerships with corporate sponsors and industry leaders, and securing additional “named” donors (minimum $25,000 level). Leveraging the power of social media and effective communication platforms to inform members on current and future activities will also be an important tactic.

A Vibrant Philanthropic Culture Will Fuel Sustainable Growth for the Endowment Program
Staying true to our vision to build a philanthropic culture within the NC AWWA-WEA is a strategic initiative. If just half of our current membership gifted a modest sum of money to the endowment on an annual basis, the investment corpus would grow as much as $25,000 each year. This level of giving to the general fund through membership, annual fundraisers, corporate donors, and “named” donors, will allow the endowment program to grow to a substantial and sustainable level, resulting in the awarding of competitive scholarships for our future candidate recipients.

Proposing a Challenge

The committee is challenging each individual organizational member to consider the gravity of their profession and the impacts one can make by giving back. Become active and engaged. Make a difference in a profession and organization we all love. Everyone’s role in ensuring we have safe water and a clean environment is important, and the strength of a fully engaged organization of water ambassadors who support the endowment will help equip and enable water professionals for future generations to come. We invite you to contact a committee member and visit our website for complete details on how to get involved with the NC Safewater Endowment Program. The future success and sustainability of our water industry is depending on you!