Endowed gifts are essential to the future growth, quality of education and empowerment of thousands of students that Mona supports globally.

Endowed gifts ensure Mona's sustained service to the most economically disadvantaged students for generations to come.

What is an Endowment?

The Mona Foundation’s Endowment Fund is composed of restricted funds established by donors in support of Mona’s overall mission, or for specific purposes, such as named scholarships or in memoriam. Endowed funds are unique in that the total amount of the gift is invested. Each year, once the full endowment goal of $5 million is realized, a percentage of the endowment’s 36-month rolling average is distributed to benefit the Mona Foundation's programs. The rest is reinvested to ensure growth, maintaining the fund’s future spending power. In this respect, an endowment is intended to be a perpetual gift.

Considered a measure of an institution’s long-term strength, endowments are essential if Mona is to remain a leading nonprofit. An endowed fund can also be established through an estate or planned gift, and is a great way to link your legacy with Mona’s future.

Benefit to You - Creating an endowment is a simple and meaningful way to honor or memorialize the ones you love.

In establishing an endowment with the Mona Foundation sustain support in the area of your choosing, and you will feel satisfaction in knowing that you have invested in something you care deeply about. Through your endowment, you may also build a stronger connection with the students and the programs that benefit from your generosity.

Endowments are an excellent way to honor someone special or to memorialize a loved one. Your family, friends and colleagues may choose to support the endowed fund you created and named because they know how special it is to you. Your family will enjoy a long relationship with Mona Foundation built around support for something you value. 

Benefit to Mona Foundation

An endowed gift is made with the intention to preserve the principal value in perpetuity. Because of their permanence, endowments are among the most advantageous sources of funding for the Mona Foundation. Like all nonprofits, Mona Foundation is subject to the volatility of the economy. The Foundation, and our critical services, however, must endure despite market ebbs and flows.

Endowments help ensure sustained services to our most vulnerable students even if other funding sources become less reliable. Consistent funding provides our partner organizations the assurance they need to sustain their vital services without interruption.

Endowments may be established to fund student scholarships, girls empowerment initiatives, infrastructure expansion to scale access, as well as areas of highest priority across our portfolio.

How does an Endowment Work?

Establishing an endowed fund at Mona Foundation is easy. The board president or treasurer will guide you through the process and discuss options that fit your situation. The procedure for endowing a fund is as follows:

• With a minimum gift of $15,000, you can establish an endowment to benefit Mona Foundation’s critical mission of educating and empowering students in need. Options are available to allow you to reach the $15,000 minimum over a period of time up to three years.

• An official Endowment Agreement between the donor and Mona documents the use and purpose of the endowed gift. Your endowment will be used exclusively for the purpose outlined in the Agreement. Endowed gifts are acknowledged in our Annual Impact Report.

• Your endowment is prudently invested based on Board-approved investment policies, along with all endowed funds at the Mona Foundation. The Foundation’s investment portfolio is diversified to provide healthy long-term returns while minimizing losses during market downturns.

• Each year, once we have reached our goal of $5 million, a percentage of your endowed fund’s 36-month rolling average value is distributed to benefit Mona's supported programs as designated in the Agreement.

• Investment growth beyond distribution to Mona’s supported programs is added to the principal, protecting the fund against inflation and market fluctuations. If the portfolio appreciation in the most recent year is less than the 36-month rolling average, it may reduce the principal.
  

An Endowment Example

• An individual or couple works with Mona's president or treasurer to create an endowment to support scholarships at Mona Foundation with a gift of $100,000.

• The gift is invested along with funds in Mona's endowment pool. These funds are invested based on board-approved investment policy and are kept intact until the endowment fund reaches $5 million, assumed in this example to be the current year. In the three years prior to the achievement of a pool value of $5 million, the fund experiences annual investment appreciation of 3%, 5% and 7% during the most recent year.

• Based on the 36-month rolling average basis, the contribution from the endowment pool to Mona Foundation programs following the most recent year would be 5% (the average of the previous three years). For the individual or couple, $100,000 invested realized 7% growth in the most recent year.

• With 5% provided to programs, this would yield a net increase to their principal value of 2%. The new invested balance following the most recent year would now be $102,000. This cycle continues in perpetuity, providing permanent income for Mona scholarships.

Endowment Naming Opportunities

Each option may be treated as unrestricted to serve Mona’s overall mission, or specifically designated to serve a particular purpose, e.g. scholarships. Each option may also be named, including to honor or memorialize a loved one, and pledged over three years.

HOW DO I GET STARTED

Congratulations on your decision to create an endowment. Once you contact us, Mona Foundation's president or treasurer will provide you with all the pertinent documents, and will work closely with you to define the features of your endowment fund to meet both your wishes and the needs of the Foundation.

Mona Foundation President or Treasurer can be reached at 425-210-8720 or by email, endowment@monafoundation.org.

Income Tax Deduction: Gifts to the Mona Foundation, whether outright or in trust, may qualify for the maximum income tax deduction allowed for charitable contributions. The Foundation recommends that you consult with your attorney or tax advisor to determine the best form of charitable giving for your individual situation. The federal tax identification number for Mona Foundation is 91-1968512.

NAMED MEMORIAL ENDOWMENTS already established

• Aghdas (Simin) Toomey Endowment Fund - Champion   
• Ali Tavangar Memorial Endowment Fund - Benefactor
• Annette M. Crowley Endowment Fund
• Atta & Touran Aflatooni Memorial Endowment Fund - Partner
• David and Tammy Wood Endowment Fund - Change Makers
• Farzaneh & Ezzatollah Rabbani Memorial Endowment Fund - Partner
• Garcia Memorial Endowment Fund – Advocate
• Horwitz Family Memorial Endowment Fund - Change Maker
• Mahmoud and Victoria Afsharian Memorial Endowment Fund - Benefactor
• Marge Gould and Kim Clark Scholarship Endowment Fund
• Marnie Jones-Koenig Endowment - Champion
• Mazkouri-Khoshkhesal Memorial Endowment Fund - Benefactor
• Naiyareh Karimimanesh Memorial Endowment Fund - Change Maker
• Neumann and Gu Family Endowment Fund - Advocate
• Reed & Rudolph Memorial Endowment Fund - Change Maker 
• Shams Rouhani Memorial Endowment Fund– Benefactor