Create a New Fund

You can create an endowment to benefit a particular nonprofit organization or cause in the community that matters most to you. Endowed funds can be started with a minimum establishing contribution of $10,000. LACF invests the principal, ensures prudent funds management, and directs the earnings out into the community as grants to nonprofits.

Donor-designated Funds are established by a donor to benefit a specific nonprofit organization. Each year, the nonprofit beneficiary receives the earnings from the endowment as an unrestricted grant. This provides a reliable income stream for the organization, allowing them to spend less time fundraising and more time carrying out their mission.

Examples include:

  • Community Endowment for UNM-Los Alamos, created by Pat Soran and Ann Hayes
  • Los Alamos Little Theatre Endowment, created by Ken Milder

Field-of-Interest Funds are established by a donor to benefit a general area of interest in the community. Each year, LACF conducts a competitive grant cycle to select the recipient(s) within the parameters specified by the donor. This competitive selection process allows for multiple organizations to benefit from the fund over time.

Examples include:

  • Los Alamos Community Youth Sports Endowment, created by Paul and Jill Cook
  • Pajarito Plateau Heritage Preservation Endowment, created by Georgia Strickfaden

To see our past grantees, click here.

Endowed funds can be created with gifts of cash, appreciated securities, required minimum contributions or qualified charitable contributions from an IRA, and more. Click here for ways to give.

Like the permanent stability of an endowment, but want to have an immediate impact too? Consider creating a Now and Forever Fund. See here for more information.

"Watching our own kids and their fellow teammates grow through competitive sports fueled our interest in starting an endowment to support youth sports in Los Alamos. Competitive sports provides an unique opportunity for kids to develop, mature and take ownership of their decisions. The work LACF is doing in the community lines up with our philosophy of having a lasting impact with our charitable giving and we are grateful for the opportunity to work with LACF."

-- Paul and Jill Cook