Are You Ready for an Endowment or a Board-Restricted Reserve?

Today’s nonprofits use a variety of strategies to become stronger, more sustainable organizations. More specifically, a growing number of nonprofits have created endowments and board-restricted reserves to generate income long after contributions are made, cover unexpected dips in revenue due to an ever-changing economic landscape, pursue long-term organizational goals, and provide working capital for new opportunities. If your organization is considering establishing an endowment or board-restricted reserve, the Richard West Freeman Endowment and Board-Restricted Reserve Challenges is a great opportunity to jumpstart raising those funds.  

The Freeman Challenges is a 2-year grant program that provides nonprofits a matching grant after successful completion of a fundraising campaign. In the first year, nonprofits engage in required readiness activities and optional capacity building workshops before the submission of their application. If selected to participate in the Freeman Challenges, nonprofits engage in a year of fundraising during the program’s second year. 

These sessions are designed to help organizations determine their readiness to participate in the Freeman Challenges. While attending one of these workshop sessions is a mandatory prerequisite to apply for either the endowment or board-restricted reserves challenges grant, you only need to attend one day of the workshop to fulfill the requirement. Organizations are encouraged to review the Freeman Challenges guidelines to ensure eligibility for the challenges prior to registering for this workshop.  

During the workshop, participants will better understand the purpose of an endowment and board-restricted reserve and complete a readiness checklist to determine if they are ready for either of the challenges. We will also provide best practices on fundraising for an endowment or board-restricted reserve. This workshop is best suited for executive directors, fund development staff, and board members. Organizational teams are encouraged to register.  

The workshops dates and times are:  

• Thursday, February 6, 2025, from 9:00 am – 12:00 pm (in-person); and 

• Thursday, February 13, 2025, from 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm (virtual). 

The in-person workshop will take place at the Greater New Orleans Foundation, 919 St. Charles Ave, New Orleans, LA 70130. Free parking will be provided. The virtual session will be on Zoom.  

This workshop is free, but registration is required. Click here to register for your preferred date and time. Contact Alana Peck at alana@gnof.org if you have any questions or need additional information.