Youth Civic Education Endowment

An endowment is a permanent charitable fund where donated money (the principal) is invested and held in perpetuity. The investment returns are used to make grants to or fund operations of nonprofits, while the principal generally remains untouched to generate income indefinitely. Endowments exist to provide long-term, stable funding.

In a challenge grant, a donor offers to give money on the condition that the organization raises matching funds from other sources. In our case, the donor has pledged $1 million to the Blue Grass Community Foundation for the civic education endowment — but only if CivicLex raises an additional $1 million from other donors by December 2029.

All gifts to the youth civic education endowment go to the Blue Grass Community Foundation, who holds two endowments: one containing the original matching challenge gift fund, and the other containing CivicLex’s own endowment fund.

All future gifts will be made to CivicLex’s endowment fund. As these contributions are made, the challenge gift fund will match them dollar for dollar. If fundraising is successful, the total of the two funds will be $2 million, held at the Blue Grass Community Foundation. This will provide CivicLex with annual grants of around $100,000 to support youth civic education.

The donor couple that made the challenge gift to the Blue Grass Community Foundation chose to do so anonymously. For this couple, one partner, a Lexington native who taught civics education early in their career, and the other partner, who traveled to Kentucky for the first-time to attend college in Lexington, they built their life, business, and family in Lexington and are incredibly grateful for the opportunities afforded to them, and their family, in our community and nation.

They believe an important part of their success is being informed, engaged, and active residents and they strongly believe every child should have access to a quality education and that an essential part of that education is a robust civic education that accomplishes three objectives:

1. Equipping students with the information and skills to understand local, state, and national governance and how to make a difference.

2. Fostering a commitment to democratic principles and promoting the common good; and,

3. Inspiring students to be informed, engaged participants in modern civic life.

The donors made this matching endowment gift as an investment in the long-term sustainability of CivicLex and as an investment in the long-term sustainability of Lexington by generating a future with more engaged residents, informed voters, and innovative leaders.

No. Per CivicLex policy, donors are never permitted to influence editorial or programmatic decisions.

Read our policies here.

Per the fund agreement, grants from the endowment can only be used for program and staff expenses related to youth civic education in Fayette County, Kentucky.

Blue Grass Community Foundation invests both endowment funds, and returns from those investments are made as annual grants to CivicLex for its youth civic education programming.

CivicLex will begin receiving grants once its endowment fund reaches $850,000. If the full goal of $1,000,000 is fulfilled, CivicLex will receive approximately $100,000 per year for its youth civic education work in perpetuity.