The family of the deceased person normally establishes the purpose of the endowment, after a suitable time of mourning has passed. Three to six months after the death, memorial gifts will generally all be received and the amount of money donated likely will influence the purpose chosen for the endowment. It is rare that memorial gifts reach the minimum level required for endowment. Frequently, family members will contribute to the memorial in order to achieve their desired purpose. If the family decides not to do so, the memorial gifts can be expended for current use rather than endowment.
Memorial gifts differ from other types of solicited gifts.
In most cases, the donor s purpose in making a memorial gift is to honor the deceased and not to support a specific purpose such as a scholarship. That is why the use to which gifts will be directed is decided upon after the gifts are received, instead of before. The terms of an endowment funded with memorial gifts will typically be established through an internal only endowment agreement, which is signed only by University officials. One is for the University s permanent records, the other is for the donor. The endowment coordinator initiates the routing process.