Endowment
"
An Investment in Character"
The Gulf Stream Council has an Endowment Fund. The money in the Endowment Fund is carefully invested by a corporate trustee, under guidelines given to it by the Council Executive Board. The purpose of an endowment fund is to never spend the principal of the fund. The interest earned each year is transferred into the operating fund to help finance the council's programs.
The endowment fund needs to grow each year. The national council believes that ultimately 25% of a council's operating budget will need to come from this source of income. Every Scouter in the Gulf Stream Council can help build our endowment fund.
Please consider what you can do to help insure that Scouting in the Gulf Stream Council remains strong and vibrant into the Twenty-First Century and beyond.
You can use our printable on-line form to outline your contribution!
James E. West Fellowship
The JamesE. West Fellowship Award is bestowed on all individuals who donate at least $1,000 to the Endowment Fund. The amount must be inaddition to their annual "Sustaining Membership Enrollment" contribution.
The James E. West (named after the first Chief Scout Executive of the Boy Scouts of America) Fellows are recognized in several ways. Their name is added to a plaque kept in the council service center. James E. West Fellows also receive a knot towear on their uniform and a beautiful certificate.
A person may give $1,000 and become a James. E. West Fellow, or give money in honor of someone else and have them named a James E. West Fellow. The principles taught in the Scout Oath & Law have not changed since 1910. They will remain true for future generations.
The James E. West Fellowship is a great way to help Scouting's future.
Scouting Heritage Society
The Heritage Society of the Gulf Stream Council recognizes individuals who have:
Put the Gulf Stream Council Endowment Fund in their will, or
Make an outright cash donation to the Endowment, or
Utilize some other investment vehicle to benefit the fund.
Those who join the Heritage Society are recognized with a certificate and pin.
Please remember Scouting in your will and help us teach that "Character Counts" to all young people in Gulf Stream Council.
The 1910 Society
Founded in 1910, the Boy Scouts of America has grown into something larger and more significant than anyone anticipated. We honor that special date by presenting the 1910 Society award to donors who make gifts of $25,000 or more to their council endowments. These gifts can be in the form of cash, securities, land, five year pledges, or other property suitable for a council endowment fund or easily converted to cash. There are four levels of recognition in the 1910 Society that honor four very special individuals who shaped modern-day Scouting:
1) Ernest Thompson Seton, , nationally known artist and naturalist, author of the first official American Scout handbook and many other books important to Scouting;
Seton Level membership: $25,000 minimum gift
2) Daniel Carter Beard, first chairman of the National Court of Honor, national Scout commissioner, and author of many well-known books and stories for youth.
Beard Level membership: $100,000 minimum gift
3) Theodore Roosevelt, first Chief Scout Citizen, first vice president of the BSA and President of the United States
Roosevelt Level membership: $500,000 minimum gift
4) Waite Phillips, one of the BSA's first benefactors, and donor to the BSA of almost 130,000 acres of land in New Mexico which became Philmont Scout Ranch
Phillips Level membership: $1,000,000 and up
The Founders' Circle
Recognition now for endowment gifts later
An individual may qualify for The Founders Circle by making a deferred charitable gift for the benefit of the local council endowment fund. To qualify, the gift must have a minimum value of $100,000. The gift may take the form of:
Bequests in the Donor's Will, or Codicil to the Will.
Charitable trusts(unitrusts, annuity trusts, lead trusts)
BSA Gift Annuities or BSA Pooled Income Fund
Life Insurance/Retirement Plan Designations
Life Estate in a Home, Farm or Vacation Property
Other Deferred Gifts (Approved by the Local Council
There are four levels of recognition available to those who seek membership in The Founders Circle. Membership for each level is indicated by the appropriate lapel pin and on the certificate received by each member. Although this gift goes to the Gulf Stream Council, it is a Nationally recognized award. Those levels are:
Bronze $100,000 minimum gift
Silver $250,000 minimum gift
Gold $500,000 minimum gift
Platinum $1,000,000 minimum gift
Printable online contribution form
