Page 49 - Fall 2019 Newsletter

PLANNED GIVING - Named Scholarships

By Jon A. McLaughlin '73 • Fundraising Co-Chair

You have heard us speak of Named Scholarships in the past. In this issue, we feature an excerpt from an article taken from the Maine
Community Foundation’s website. The MaineCF is the overseer of the HHSAA Endowment, whose total funds include several named
scholarships.

In his current work with
Rudman & Winchell and
previous solo practice, estate
and trusts attorney Nathan
“Pete” Dane has worked
with the Maine Community
Foundation to help clients
make the most of their
charitable visions. In
conversation with Jennifer
Southard, MaineCF’s vice
president, donor services
and operations, Dane
describes their teamwork.

Jennifer Southard: “How
did you first hear about the
Maine Community Foundation?”

Nathan Dane:” It came about through the death of a friend’s daughter. The family wanted to set up a scholarship fund in her
memory, and I helped administer it for the first couple of years. Over time, the family found the administration to be a burden.
The community foundation assumed stewardship of the scholarship, which was a wonderful solution. Annual awards continue
to be made to students interested in the arts, and the family deeply appreciates the fact that the fund they established in their
child’s name is having an ongoing impact on youth in the area.”

Much like Mr. Dane’s client, who set up a scholarship at MaineCF to honor their daughter’s memory, several folks have set up
named scholarships with the Association to honor their loved ones. The HHSAA can set up a named scholarship for you. The
funds go to the MaineCF to be invested with the HHSAA Endowment, earning income that can create larger scholarships as
time goes on.

Named scholarships don’t have to just be created for memorializing passed loved ones. One of the fastest growing funds in
the Association’s endowment are Class Year Scholarships. In fact, at this June’s Senior High Last Chapel, two class scholarships
were awarded to deserving graduates – The Class of ’62 Scholarship and the Class of ’64 Scholarship. Both classes’ funds have
reached a level that they are able to make scholarships based on earnings so that the principal is not touched.

How does a named scholarship work? It is basically very simple. A class or individual must contribute $25,000 to their
scholarship fund before a scholarship is given. Why $25,000? The MaineCF currently gives back annually to its endowed
funds, 4% of the earnings in its accounts. The remaining earnings go back into the fund to create larger pools of funds for
larger giving in the future. The HHSAA prefers giving out a minimum of $1000 in scholarships as post-secondary education
is so expensive today. Basically, 4% earnings on the $25,000 investment allows for a $1000 scholarship. In reality, there is a
complex formula used to determine when the named fund will actually be able to give out the first $1000. These figures can
change with the earnings of the total endowment, but these are the figures that have been in use for the past several years due
to the good earnings of the MaineCF investment portfolio.
So, a class can create a class scholarship with the intention of creating the $25,000 funding goal over three or four years. Once
the funds are at the needed level, the class can present a scholarship in its name.
What better way to keep the memory of your class alive, especially at the time of that special reunion – 40 years, 45 years, 50
years, etc. Raise the funds in time so that you might give out a scholarship at one of the milestone reunion years of your class.
For more information on a named scholarship, please contact HHSAA President, Nancy Ketch at nketch64@gmail.com.

For more complex planned giving needs, feel free to contact or have your estate planner contact, the above-mentioned Jennifer Southard
directly at the Maine Community Foundation.

www.houltonalumni.com PAGE 49