There are a wide variety of giving options. Some are simple, others more complex. The general information in this section may be useful to you, whichever ones you choose. If you have any questions, please contact the Foundation office. We would appreciate an opportunity to visit with you.
Designating Your Gift
What you choose to support is entirely up to you. You may designate your gift for any purpose that contributes to Barton's educational mission that is acceptable to the trustees of the College or the board of directors of the Barton Community College Foundation.
Among the most useful gifts, however, are those designated for "wherever the need is greatest". These unrestricted gifts offer much-needed flexibility to an otherwise rigid state-appropriated budget. They allow the College to take advantage of unexpected opportunities and meet challenges that arise after state budgets are set. Donors who make unrestricted gifts can be confident that their gifts will be put to the best possible use. This can be done through our Academic Enrichment Fund campaign, which offers the donor a wide variety of gift-giving opportunities.
Endowed Funds
An endowment is an investment in the future. When you use your charitable gift to establish an endowment, the gift is invested with two goals in mind: to provide income for whatever specific purpose you have designated and to make the principal grow faster than inflation.
The principal is not usually invaded, depending on the donor's wishes, and any earnings over a certain amount are channeled back into the fund to keep it healthy and growing.
Well-managed endowments can generate income indefinitely. That fact makes them uniquely valuable to the College, and therefore especially attractive to donors who wish to leave a legacy at Barton.
Gift Agreements
Whenever a gift fund is set up, it is wise to create a gift agreement. The agreement sets out your specific criteria for how the College will utilize your gift. It ensures that the gift will always be used exactly as you intend.
It also may set out provisions for alternative uses, should it become impossible or impractical for the College to carry out your original intention (for instance, advances in knowledge render a given field of study obsolete).
For these reasons, the Barton Community College Foundation now requires that all new funds have a written gift agreement on file. The Foundation staff will work with you to draw up the agreement.