McCarter is undertaking a concerted effort to strengthen our endowment so that we remain competitive, fulfill our programmatic goals and sustain our credo of excellence. Our goal is to build McCarter’s Endowment Fund from where it stands now at $8.5 million to $15 million in the short term and eventually to $25 million in order to sustain our mission of excellence in both new initiatives and established programming.
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Sustain McCarter’s Reputation in the Region and the Nation. McCarter’s reputation is founded on the breadth and depth of its programs. Having an endowment to support the programs that make McCarter special will protect them from budget uncertainties and income downturns."
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Perpetuate Your Annual Gift. Many donors see a gift to endowment as a way to continue their own regular annual giving forever. For example an endowment gift of $20,000 could produce an annual gift of $1,000 to McCarter, given a 5% return. In ten years, that gift of $1,000 could increase to $2,600 if the fund earned 10% per year. It’s a great way to keep giving year after year.
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Guarantee Your Enduring Legacy. Donors to the endowment create a continual stream of financial support that will outlive them and influence succeeding generations.
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Fund New Initiatives. A strong endowment can fund new initiatives that are central to McCarter’s mission such as new play development, commissions, musical theater opportunities, additional rehearsal time, or to provide the ability to take advantage of rapidly changing markets.
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Ensure a Stronger McCarter. Each year, McCarter must raise a certain number of dollars to meet operational costs to sustain facilities, program and personnel. Raising money for the ‘here and now’ is always a priority. Annual payouts from the endowment relieve some of this pressure and safeguard against unexpected catastrophes such as 9/11 or fluctuations by other funding sources like the New Jersey State Council on the Arts or the National Endowment for the Arts.
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The Endowment is invested in PRINCO’s Principal Pool, a mix of stocks, bonds, and other investments with the goal of preserving the principal, providing earnings to support the Theater, and guarding the fund against inflation. Historically PRINCO has produced significant growth even with the uncertain and volatile market of the last several years.
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The McCarter Board of Trustees, through its Finance Committee, sets an investment policy, chooses investment managers to invest the fund, and monitors the fund. At present, McCarter’s endowment is invested with the Princeton University Investment Company (PRINCO), the same group that manages the University’s endowment, and the performance of PRINCO for McCarter is reviewed annually by the Finance Committee.
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There are many ways to give to the endowment, some of which may provide income to the donor, save estate taxes, decrease income tax, and partially or completely bypass capital gains tax, while at the same time providing support for McCarter. These include:
- Bequests
- Gift Annuities
- Retirement Funds
- Life Insurance
- Charitable Trusts
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There is an exciting array of naming opportunities and benefits for donors and their families. Specific recognition is available for productions, community initiatives, your favorite performance, education programs, leadership chairs, and prominent spaces in the Berlind and Matthew Theatres, to name a few.
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Leverage Your Legacy: The New Jersey Cultural Trust has designated McCarter as qualified to receive matching funds from the trust for gifts to McCarter’s Endowment Fund.
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