Designated Funds

Ken Anderson, a retired Buffalo Lake public school teacher, helped create a permanent resource for the students he cares so much about by partnering with community leaders to create the Buffalo Lake-Hector School Foundation through the Southwest Initiative Foundation.

The Southwest Initiative Foundation offers a variety of Designated Funds designed to help donors meet their unique philanthropic goals, and to keep valuable resources in southwest Minnesota. Designated Funds can be endowed or non-endowed (pass-through) and are created with a specific purpose in mind.

A minimum gift of $10,000 is required to establish a designated endowment fund; however an “acorn” endowment may be created with as little as $1,000 in seed money and a viable plan to grow the fund to a minimum of $10,000 within five years.

In most cases, a Designated Fund is advised by a local committee of volunteer leaders. The committee raises money for the fund, recommends grant distributions, and raises public awareness. As part of the partnership with the Foundation, SWIF provides assistance in the planning and development of Designated Funds. It also administers the funds and provides ongoing technical and professional support as needed, in areas such as fundraising, marketing, public relations, and grantmaking.

Designated Funds can receive many types of gifts , including cash, appreciated stock, real estate, and planned gifts, such as charitable gift annuities and bequests.

Designated Funds administered by SWIF for the benefit of southwest Minnesota include:

Agency Fund:

A fund established for the benefit of one or more specific charitable organizations, such as a youth center, school district, nature preserve, historical society, etc.

• Buffalo Lake-Hector Public School Foundation Fund
• Business, Arts & Recreation Center (BARC) Endowment Fund 
• Chippewa River Watershed Project Endowment Fund
• Clarkfield Area Charter School Fund
• Class of 1958 Fund for the Madison Marietta Nassau Elementary School
• Cottonwood County Historical Society Endowment Fund
• Cottonwood County Historical Society Remick Gallery Endowment Fund
• C.P. and Mary B. Schmidt Family Endowment Fund for the Worthington Y.M.C.A.
• C.P. and Mary B. Schmidt Family Endowment Fund for Westminster Presbyterian Church
• C.P. and Mary B. Schmidt Family Endowment Fund for Worthington Regional Healthcare Foundation
• Edgerton Public School Foundation Fund
• Friends of the Jackson County Library Fund
• Grove City Area C.A.R.E. Endowment Fund
• Hospice Cottage, Inc. of Worthington Endowment Fund 
• Hutchinson Hospice Endowment Fund
• Hutchinson Independent School District #423 Foundation Fund
• Jackson County Central School Foundation Fund
• Johnson Memorial Foundation Fund
• Lac qui Parle Museum Endowment Fund
• Lake Benton Education Foundation Fund
• Litchfield Public School Foundation Endowment Fund
• Marshall-Lyon County Library Foundation Fund
• Murray County Central Rebel Foundation Fund
• Nobles County Freedom Veterans Memorial Park, Inc. Endowment Fund
• Ortonville Public School Foundation Fund
• Prairie Ecology Bus Center Fund

Designated Grant Fund:

A non-endowed fund to support a specific program or activity through the distribution of grants.  These are generally established by a consortium of donors with a common interest and used to support specific programs for a defined period of time.

• Entrepreneurial Activities Fund for the Benefit of Ridgewater College
• Horizons of Jackson Fund
• Jackson Circles of Support Fund
• Minnesota West Community & Technical College Small Business Management Fund

Donor-Advised Fund:

A fund established by an individual donor or donors who wish to provide input to SWIF about the distributions from the fund. 

• Beatrice F. Ourada Advised Fund
• Carol M. Ulrich Haukos Advised Endowment Fund
• Carr Family Foundation Advised Endowment Fund
• Ellen Baker-Merrigan Advised Endowment Fund
• Freese Family Advised Endowment Fund
• Harder Family Advised Foundation Fund
• Heimark Family Advised Fund
• Jennie-O Turkey Store, Inc. Crisis Assistance Relief Effort (CARE) Advised Fund
• Krueger Family Advised Fund
• Robert & Florence Wolff Memorial Advised Endowment Fund
• Sneer Family Advised Fund

Field of Interest Fund:

A fund created to support a particular priority of the donor, such as aging, inclusiveness, youth, mental health, veterans, etc.

• Appleton VFW Post 4955 Flags of Honor Memorial Endowment Fund
• Brad Behrends Memorial Fund
• Dawson-Boyd Alumni Association Endowment Fund
• Galen Hanson Memorial Education Endowment Fund
• Lake Benton Lake Association Fund
• Luverne Child Guide Endowment Fund
• Madison Community Baseball Endowment Fund
• Minnesota Educators of the Gifted and Talented (MEGT) Fund
• Mountain Lake Area Foundation for Education Fund
• Mountain Lake Area Healthcare Fund
• Murray County Early Childhood Fund
• Paul & Alma Schwan Aging Trust Endowment Fund
• Southwest Minnesota Student Enrichment Endowment Fund
• Southwest Minnesota Student Enrichment Program Fund
• Walter and Arthur Anderson Memorial Endowment Fund
• Worthington Area Early Childhood Development Fund

Scholarship Fund:

A fund established to provide scholarship support to students within a particular school district or in a specified area of academic pursuit.

• Bernice Halvorson Scholarship Fund
• Blue and Gold Foundation Fund
• Canby Community Scholarship Endowment Fund
• Cooper and Jack Schoenfeld Memorial Scholarship Fund
• Dawson RSG (Ruzich, Seeling & Gustafson) Scholarship Endowment Fund
• Dr. Philip W. Maus Scholarship Endowment Fund of Johnson Memorial Foundation
• James L. Vance Fellowship Fund
• Laura Miller Memorial Scholarship Endowment Fund
• People Helping People Nursing Scholarship Endowment Fund