A gift that keeps on giving
…for lemurs and the work of the DLC! Did you know that the Duke Lemur Center can help you create lasting gifts to support our work to protect lemurs and their habitat, and to sustain student programs here and in Madagascar?
Endowment gifts and the revenues they generate are increasingly important to both furthering the DLC’s work and securing the Duke Lemur Center’s financial future. Currently, the DLC has nine endowments. Their revenues provide about 4% of the center’s annual operating budget.
How does it work?
An endowment is a gift that keeps on giving! Each year, a portion of an endowment fund’s value is paid out to support the fund’s purpose at the DLC. Any earnings in excess of this distribution are used to build the fund’s market value. In this way, an endowment fund can grow and provide support to its designated purpose here at the DLC in perpetuity.
Ways you can support the Duke Lemur Center through an endowment:
1. make an outright gift during your lifetime to establish an endowment fund;
2. establish an endowment through creative estate and retirement planning (we can help you and your advisors to explore options that might be a good fit for you); or
3. create an endowment with an outright gift during your lifetime while planning to later provide an additional gift to support the endowment through your estate plan.
How much money is required?
The Duke Board of Trustees has minimum* funding levels for different types of endowments:
$100,000 will establish a named endowment for unrestricted support of the Duke Lemur Center.
$300,000 or more will establish a named endowment for a restricted area of support, such as colony care, student programs, or Madagascar conservation work. It’s also possible to endow staff positions within the DLC—such as director, veterinarian, and more.
A gift at any level can be designated to the Duke Lemur Center’s general operations endowment fund. This is an excellent choice for someone interested in supporting the DLC’s work in perpetuity with a gift under $100,000.
*Please note that the minimum funding levels listed above may increase in the future, and if they do, the giving requirement in effect at the time that your gift is received by the DLC would apply.
Please consult your personal and financial advisors and any close family members for your plans to make this special gift to the Duke Lemur Center.
Named endowments
A named endowment can be established for a gift of $100,000 or more to the Duke Lemur Center’s general operations endowment fund. For a gift $300k or more, we can create a customized, named endowment to address a specific area of need at the DLC. We currently have several endowment agreement templates “ready to customize,” including:
Named endowment for lemur care at the DLC: Provide support for colony care at the Duke Lemur Center, including specialized diets for each species, enrichment items for stimulation and lemur play, tools for positive reinforcement, cleaning supplies, maintenance of grounds and fence-line to ensure safe and secure outdoor space, animal care equipment, and wages for animal and veterinary care technicians.
Named endowment for veterinary care at the DLC: Provide support for the veterinary program at the Duke Lemur Center, including but not limited to, veterinary equipment and associated departmental technology needs, diagnostic testing, medicine, and wages within the veterinary team.
Named endowment for Madagascar conservation for the DLC: Provide support for the Duke Lemur Center’s community-based conservation programs in the SAVA region as well as lemur conservation breeding initiatives on the island.
Named endowment for student projects at the DLC: Provide support for student programs at the Duke Lemur Center including costs associated with training and managing students enrolled in the internship program or serving as volunteers, stipends for interns, and wages necessary for staff to manage and supervise students.
Named endowment for general operations for the DLC: Provide unrestricted support for the Duke Lemur Center.
Questions?
For more details on any of the opportunities above, please contact Mary Paisley at 919.401.7252 or mary.paisley@duke.edu. Thank you so much for your support!
