Scholarship Endowment Fund

(Note: This article was written for us by one of the principles of our investment management company and published in the Summer 2006 Raider magazine) We are very pleased that the Board of Trustees recently approved a long-term investment plan for the new Scholarship endowment to provide income for scholarships and financial aid to qualified students who will benefit from an education at SCPS. Chatham Investment Management Company, a registered investment advisor, has been selected to manage the Fund. Chatham was founded in Savannah in 1996 and is owned entirely by its operating principals. Our sole focus is the management of investment portfolios for individual and endowment clients. Chatham’s investment approach is to allocate portfolio assets among seven major categories of equities and bonds based on each one’s expected risk and return potential. The foundation supporting our approach is strong empirical evidence over many decades confirming that investing in the right asset categories is more important than the individual securities selected. Also integral to our firm’s investment process is our analysis to identify significant investment themes expected to be dominant for the ensuing few years. Our last step is to select promising securities to achieve positive returns for the portfolio within the risk limits of the SCPS Scholarship Endowment Fund. The SCPS Investment Policy Statement allows the investment manager to invest anywhere from 40% to 70% of the Fund in equities with the remainder in fixed income. During December and January, Chatham made initial investments toward building a diversified portfolio of high quality securities. The outlook is favorable for economic growth to remain positive and for equities to provide better returns than those likely from fixed income. Chatham’s investment strategy will change over time as fundamental business conditions vary and/or interest rates and equity prices rise or fall significantly, as inevitably will be the case. Consistent with the current outlook, Chatham has positioned the Fund’s portfolio near the top limit of the 70% equity limit. The stock holdings are clustered among companies that should benefit from Chatham’s favored investment themes for growth over the next few years—healthy demographic trends, global economic expansion and technological change. During the coming years we want to see the SCPS Scholarship Endowment Fund grow not only through positive investment returns, but also from donor contributions. The more successful we are in this endeavor, the better our ability to help worthy students have the opportunity to attend SCPS who may not otherwise be able to afford the tuition.

SCPS endowments are funded through direct gifts, planned gifts and investment income.

Planned Giving typcially involves looking to the future and making specific, concrete, legal plans regarding one’s finances for one’s lifetime and one’s estate thereafter. Planned, charitable gifts are typically initiated through a legal document such as a will or a trust. In addition to a specific amount or percentage monetary gift disbursed at the direction of one’s will or through a trust, gifts may include charitable gift annuities, gifts of life insurance, real estate, pooled income funds, or charitable trusts.

As indicated in the articles below, thoughtful planning ahead can benefit hundreds, even thousands, of people positively for life and greatly impact entire communities.

• It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time
  Benefactor leaves $1,000,000 to SCPS scholarship fund

  Leroy Benner hailed from the oil spot township of Cravens, Louisiana, a community with a miniscule population smaller than many city neighborhoods. He eventually spent most of his life in Savannah working as an assistant to the owner of the Pierpont-Corbett Box Company. Following his death, the quiet, unassuming, wise investor left a large mark on his adopted city through a charitable gift to SCPS totaling nearly $1,000,000 . . . more
   

• Eckburg Scholars program rewards outstanding undergraduate students to attend SCAD

  Last year, Savannah College of Art and Design President Paula S. Wallace announced the donation of $1 million by philanthropist and community leader Richard D. Eckburg and his wife Judy for the establishment of the Eckburg Scholars program at SCAD. The scholarships soon will be awarded to five incoming SCAD students for the 2006-07 academic year who demonstrate perseverance, self-motivation and dedication. Preference shall be given to graduates of Savannah Christian Preparatory School . . . more
   

• Victoria Jenkins Fund

  The youngest of three daughters born to Herschel V. Jenkins (1872-1960), owner of the Savannah Morning News for more than three decades, Virginia Jenkins served as her father’s secretary and inherited his entire estate along with her sisters. Single, extremely frugal, and charitably visionary, Victoria established a foundation for the benefit of several Savannah organizations after her death, including Independent Presbyterian Church, the Victoria Jenkins Memorial Boys Club, Union Mission, and Jenkins High School PTA. A portion of the annual income from the Victoria Jenkins Foundation is also divided equally annually among three area private schools – St. Andrew’s, Savannah Country Day, and Savannah Christian Preparatory School.

For more information on direct giving to SCPS endowments, or including SCPS in your future giving plans, please contact your lawyer or financial advisors.

Rev. Dr. K. Lynn Lewis, Director of Institutional Advancement
Office:  (912) 234-1653 x 209
Cell:  (912) 655-1637
giving@savcps.com