Strength in Education: Center of Help Endowment Fund 

The Center of Help or Centro de Ayuda (COH) mission is to empower, educate, and connect immigrants with resources to promote self-sufficiency and to advocate for the successful integration of the immigrant community into Anne Arundel County and the surrounding areas.  

When it came time for COH to consider an endowment, they came to the Community Foundation of Anne Arundel County (CFAAC).  

“We have a really great relationship with the Community Foundation, so it was the first place that we thought of when it came to opening an endowment fund,” said COH Executive Director Kirsten Clark. 

Clark explained that The Center of Help Endowment Fund was created to ensure the sustainability of the annual Suzanne Cohen Scholarship Fund at COH, a scholarship given to two high school seniors in the county who are pursuing secondary education degrees or trade school certificates. It was established to carry on Cohen’s legacy of philanthropy in the community.  

“This was a planned gift made in 2019 to the Center of Help by local philanthropist, and longtime supporter, Suzanne Cohen. The amount increased with memorial gifts made by those who were close to Suzanne and who supported the Center,” said Clark.  

While the COH board considered other options to hold their funds, CFAAC’s reputation in the community was their deciding factor. “We wanted to make sure that donor’s funds would be well taken care of, that the organization was sustainable, and they could make the best use of our funds,” she said. “We wanted to continue the scholarships for future generations and an endowment fund with CFAAC would make that possible.”  

Charitable dollars for the future work and mission of a nonprofit are critical. Invested with over 150 other funds and roughly $23 million in assets, an Agency Fund at CFAAC is guaranteed to receive prudent financial stewardship and provide a lasting source of income to the nonprofit. 

Kirsten also said that the ease of doing business with CFAAC was a major factor in the decision-making process. “CFAAC was really helpful and explained to us about each type of fund and what ways each of them could benefit the center,” she said. “Just being able to have those open and transparent conversations was really helpful and important for us because as leaders we wanted to make sure that we were acting in the best interests of the Center. CFAAC was really on top of it, sending us the information that was needed, making sure that everything was easy to understand and read.” 

“We are hoping that as we grow, the endowment fund will grow to provide multiple scholarships, and possibly offer new and different services,” she added. “We want to continue our partnership with the Community Foundation because they are helping us get our name further out there in the community. It’s very beneficial to us to continue to have that exposure.”