THE HIGH NOON ROTARY SCHOLARSHIP ENDOWMENT FUND (aka The Community Foundation)

The Scholarship Endowment fund was established to support our club’s scholarship program and is supported by club member donations.  It was founded in 2005, when members decided to start an endowment fund that might one day support most of our annual scholarships granted to graduating high school seniors, a primary focus of our club.

While the first donation to this fund was a $10,500 club donation in 2005, it has grown to almost $350,000.  Regular club member donations and general market returns, including interest earned and dividends have grown it to this level.  Beginning in 2017, we made our first $10,000 distribution from this fund for graduating high school seniors.  In 2025, our club will provide over $30,000 for scholarships, with the help of this Endowment Fund.

This fund is appropriately managed in two ways.  First, it is held in custodianship by the Community Foundation Serving Southwest Colorado, a 501 ( c ) (3) non-profit organization.   This is where club member checks are written – – – with “Rotary Scholarship” in the memo line.  Funds received are placed into a cash account.  Second, the Fund’s assets are managed by the Scholarship Investment Advisory Committee established by the High Noon Rotary Club Board of Directors.  This Committee meets regularly and in accordance with the Investment Policy Statement (IPS), also approved by the Board.  The IPS serves as a guide, in order to appropriately invest the Fund’s assets and periodically re-balance them.  As the cash balance builds, funds are re-directed into either the stock market or a laddered bond portfolio, or both.  The bond portfolio is laddered in a way that allows for an annual maturity of bonds in late Spring/early Summer that will support our summer distribution for scholarships.  Stocks are diversified into US and international equities.

The intent of maintaining this Endowment Fund is to continually increase its value through club member contributions, the occasional contribution of surplus club funds, and of course return on the funds invested.  It is expected that interest and dividends earned through the year will cover the expected scholarship distributions, and as the Fund grows – – so will distributions for scholarships.

If you would like to be part of supporting our local youth in the pursuit of higher education please feel free to contribute by following this link: Scholarship Endowment Fund Contributions