On April 5, 2021, Easter Monday, the Legacy Fund received its first donation.
Nearly four decades after 27 religious communities invested $360,000 to form the Leviticus 25:23 Alternative Fund, several of our founding members elected to convert their investments to donations and in so doing, create the Legacy Fund. As of October, 2021, the Legacy Fund includes 12 members, with pledges or donations totaling $530,000.
Investments from religious communities are an important part of Leviticus’ lending pool, but converting an investment to a donation multiplies its mission impact.
A donation increases the amount added to our lending capital base in two ways that a subvention does not. First, we can count it as a dollar-for-dollar matching grant when we apply to the federal CDFI Fund. Second, by converting a subvention to a donation, we can leverage additional borrowing on at least a 3:1 basis. Because a subvention is considered repayable debt on our balance sheet, we cannot borrow against it.
The Legacy Fund is a permanently restricted fund to be used for lending capital. Unlike traditional grants, this gift will never be “spent down” – but will keep revolving into communities in need. Through donations to the Legacy Fund, Leviticus’ members will continue to relieve poverty and suffering by investing in community-focused efforts that foster social, economic, environmental, and racial justice.
“I very clearly remember that first annual meeting,” said Sister Patricia Wolf, RSM, founding President of the Board of the Leviticus Fund. The founding members “took a risk on Leviticus, and now … nearly 40 years later, Leviticus is still here. Joining the Legacy Fund extends their membership in perpetuity.”
We are deeply grateful to the following communities, the first members of the Legacy Fund, who have entrusted us as stewards of their resources on a permanent basis.
- Congregation of the Holy Cross, Moreau Province
- Congregation of the Infant Jesus, Nursing Sisters of the Sick Poor, Inc.
- Crusade for Family Prayer
- Dominican Sisters of Amityville
- Dominican Sisters of Caldwell
- Dominican Sisters of Hope
- Dominican Sisters of Sparkill
- Franciscan Sisters of Peace
- FSC DENA (District of Eastern North America) Endowment Trust
- Marist Brothers of the Schools
- Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary
- Sisters of Our Lady of Christian Doctrine
- Sisters of St. Dominic of Blauvelt
- Sisters of the Divine Compassion
- Sisters of the Good Shepherd
- Ursuline Sisters of the Roman Union
For more information about becoming a member of the Legacy Fund, please contact Colleen Ryan at [email protected] or view the presentation below or in a new window.
