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2007 News Articles › NCBA Foundation Establishing LANC Fund
NCBA Foundation Establishing LANC Fund
Article Date: Monday, May 07, 2007
Written By: Russell Rawlings
North Carolina Bar Association Foundation Endowment
Announces Establishment of LANC Fund
The North Carolina Bar Association, in keeping with its longstanding support of the legal services community and specifically Legal Aid of North Carolina (LANC), proudly announces the establishment of the LANC Fund. The new named fund within the NCBA Foundation Endowment will be restricted to LANC.
In keeping with the policies of the NCBA Foundation Endowment regarding restricted funds, the LANC Fund will be activated upon receipt of contributions totaling $100,000. The new fund will accept contributions from North Carolina lawyers, law firms, legally affiliated groups, and any other source wishing to help build and expand an endowed fund for LANC.
In addition, the NCBA Board of Governors has approved an unprecedented charitable contribution option to benefit LANC on the NCBA member dues statement to help build the LANC Fund. This effort will move forward in conjunction with the 2007-08 dues cycle and establishment of this fund has been included as a target goal within the NCBA Strategic Plan – Momentum 2010.
Furthermore, online contributions can now be transacted via the NCBA Web site; click here to do so.
Establishment of the LANC Fund continues a legacy of commitment dating back to 1976, at which time the NCBA established LANC. With its statewide structure now established, LANC is committed to increasing its capacity-building and fundraising activities. In support of these directives, it is appropriate for the NCBA and the NCBA Foundation to renew its commitment to LANC through the LANC Fund.
NCBA Foundation Endowment support of legal services includes hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants over the past 15 years, not to mention significant commitments of in-kind resources. The NCBA served as the official sponsor of LANC’s 25th Anniversary and routinely hosts legal services groups at the N.C. Bar Center.
The NCBA Foundation Endowment will administer the LANC Fund for LANC at no administrative cost, similar to the services provided to donor-advised funds within community foundations, however, without the associated fees. In similar fashion, the LANC Fund will be an asset of the NCBA Foundation Endowment. The NCBA Investment Committee will invest the funds, while absorbing any fees, as part of the Endowment, and the new fund will share in the investment returns.
Contributions placed in the LANC Fund will be treated as true endowed funds, meaning that the corpus (the total of all contributions) will never be touched. In accordance with the NCBA Foundation Endowment’s five percent disbursement policy, an annual grant would be awarded to LANC to support its operating budget.
The LANC Fund will allow all lawyers and law firms to help secure the long-term future of Legal Aid of North Carolina. As LANC expands its fundraising efforts and develops a planned giving program, these gifts could possibly be placed in the LANC Fund.
The LANC Fund is intended to develop a new revenue stream of endowed funds and would not compete in any way with the LANC Access to Justice Campaign. Any promotional materials would distinguish this effort as endowment-building by the NCBA Foundation on behalf of LANC as distinct from the ongoing LANC annual fund. Also, LANC and other legal services groups will still be eligible to receive NCBA Foundation Endowment grant monies from the unrestricted portion of the Foundation Endowment through the semi-annual grant process.