8615-R4_ML&P_LSLA_2024_SummerNewsletter_Web

LSLA Endowment – 100 for 100 Challenge – Great Progress! Jim McBride

Last year our spring newsletter announced a special challenge – to raise $100,000 for the endowment to celebrate 100 years of remarkable citizen stewardship of Little Sebago. Since then, our members and friends have been very supportive of that effort. From May 2023 through March 2024, over 130 donors have contributed nearly $67,000 towards our goal of $100k for 100 years! Thank you so much to everyone who has already made a gift! In 2011, the LSLA board agreed to establish an endowment that could be used as a financial safeguard to protect the Association from the up and down cycles of expenses and revenue. An initial challenge of $150 by one member was matched with another $150. At the end of the first year the total was $3,121. Each year we solicit additional gifts and our members have been very generous. The money is invested through the Maine Community Foundation, which manages the funds professionally. As of the end of 2023, the LSLA Endowment Fund amounts to $228,492 – clearly showing the power of visionary support from our members and growth through long-term investing. The LSLA endowment policy states that only the income generated by the endowment may be used as part of the general operating fund of the Association and can be used to pay any reasonable expenses as determined by the Board of Directors. The actual gifts to the endowment will never be

spent and will continue to grow over time. LSLA has never taken any funds out of the endowment to help cover operating expenses. In most recent years, LSLA has shown a budget surplus, so the board decided to leave the earnings in the endowment to continue to grow. We are well on our way towards meeting the $100k for 100 years challenge, and we are confident that we will reach the goal by the end of 2024. Growing the endowment will support our mission objectives of protecting our water quality and promoting lake safety. Please help us fill the thermometer during this very special centennial year. Please join the challenge and make a special donation to the LSLA Endowment today! Road Association Contacts Little Sebago Lake Association maintains a list of the road associations that surround the lake. The contact information is updated every year and appears on LSLA website for members’ reference. If you are the current contact for your road association and you don’t see your name listed, please contact Diane at dburnell@littlesebago.com and I can revise the list. Thank you!

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