Managing and Investing Your Funds

The Mid-Shore Community Foundation has established four fund pools to manage and invest assets consistent with the objectives of the funds within the pool and with liquidity requirements. The Short Term Pool holds the assets of pass-through funds at the Foundation; 100% of the assets are invested in cash or money market funds.

The Charitable Gift Annuity Pool contains all the assets of the Charity Gift Annuity Contracts held by the Foundation and is managed consistent with the reserve requirements established by the State of Maryland, and the annuity payment obligations to the donors.The goal of the pool is to preserve as much of the original gift value as possible. Assets are allocated to fixed income and equity investments.

The Conservative Pool is designed for moderate growth and low risk accounts. Assets are allocated to fixed income and conservative equity investments.

The Long Term Pool is designed to support the goals of our permanent / endowed funds: long term growth greater than 9% to cover investment and administrative fees, preserve the initial gift value of the endowments and support the distribution policy of the Foundation for grantmaking – 5% of the 3-year average fund balance. This approach provides a buffer against inevitable downturns in the stock and bond markets, allowing us to continue meaningful granting even during recessionary times.

Our investment program benefits from the expertise of a highly-qualified Investment Committee. Appointed by the Board and chaired by a Board member, the Committee meets regularly to review and rebalance our portfolios. They evaluate our fund managers’ performance relative to benchmarks and report investment performance to the Foundation’s Board.

Available for download:
Pool Investment Summary PDF >