endowments

supporting our core mission with sustainable and predictable income

Friends – The Power of Endowment

Our mission at Friends is to protect and restore the San Juan Islands and the Salish Sea for people and nature. This mission will always be a critical, ongoing and sometimes urgent need. To be prepared and continue to meet rising challenges, some we may predict and others we do not, we need support from members who share our vision and values.

Friends’ Management of Endowments

Endowment management is central to our strategy of providing a secure stream of investment income. Friend’s endowment funds are professionally managed and operated under the authority of the Board of Directors Finance Committee. The committee receives investment advisory services from top-tier, global financial consultants. The Endowment Funds shall be invested to preserve the long-term real purchasing power of the Funds’ assets while realizing appropriate investment income.

You can contribute now or in the future, to the Ellis General Operations Endowment, Science Endowment, or the Law and Policy Endowment.  For details about contributions, pledges, or to become a founding endowment member, please get in touch with us.

For more information or to learn about endowments, please email [email protected]

Friends upholds the United Nations Six Principles of Responsible Investment as a prominent guideline for incorporating Sustainability into investment decisions. We pursue a portfolio of investment; a conservative strategy of asset allocations based upon Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) and Environment, Social Justice, and Governance (ESG) investments principles.  We adhere to principles of mission-related investing. Our endowments will remain a robust engine for permanent tribute to the generosity and vision of the members who contribute to them.

Ensuring that your gift is used according to your wishes is our highest priority. All members who contribute endowment may receive annual reports of the endowment fund’s financial status. Members contributing to an endowment have opportunities to meet with the Board and Program Directors to hear the impact and outcome of programs.

Bequests are a simple and meaningful way to set up, or contribute to an existing endowment for operations or programs you wish to see continue at Friends. Let us continue the work together— in perpetuity to protect the San Juan Islands and the Salish Sea. 

For more information email [email protected]

It means so much to me to have helped protect the rural environment and natural beauty of the San Juan Islands during the 1980s and 90s. Now I get to share my appreciation of these beautiful islands with my grandchildren, too.

Nancy DeVaux

former Executive Director and member, San Juan Island