The Power of Endowment

By Charlie Becker
Executive Director of Camp Courageous of Iowa

In 1980, Dr. Earl DeShaw taught me the joy of giving when he asked me to lead by example and join him in giving $1,000 a year to the new Camp Courageous endowment. I was 25, making $17,000 a year and paying a mortgage, so that seemed impossible.

But when he explained it was only $20 a week, he made it feel attainable — and I’ve kept it up for 40 years. I feel that the more I give of my time and resources, the more it comes back to me many times over.

Through partnering with the Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque, that feeling is as strong now as it ever was. The Community Foundation offers a prime example of how to build a culture of giving back by bringing generous people together to build a strong region. We’re all here to do good, and whether you have a pot of money or you can only give a little bit, you can make a difference. In the Community Foundation, you have an organization investing your gift wisely and helping it grow to benefit future generations. 

I’ve seen it first-hand at Camp Courageous. We began serving campers with special needs back in 1974 with 211 campers, five buildings and a staff of 12. Now we serve more than 10,000 campers with 33 buildings and a staff of more than 100. By hosting our endowment fund, the Community Foundation has been our partner in that growth. Our fund grows in perpetuity and will pay out every year, forever, for the benefit of many people.

Long after I’m gone from Camp Courageous and long after I’m gone from this earth, my donations will be doing good for a lot of people. That’s the power of endowment, and it’s very important to me. Endowment is a cornerstone of the Community Foundation’s work and major reason why the Foundation can help strengthen the region long into the future.

The Community Foundation has the devices and the expertise to get the job done. We can sit here and dream, but the Foundation has the ability to go where the need is. With its good leadership, good investments, and good outcomes for the Dubuque region, it’s an organization I believe in strongly.

I’m big on having a level playing field for everybody — whether a person has special needs, lives in poverty, has mental illness, or faces another challenge the future might hold. If it wasn’t for others helping my family when I was growing up, I wouldn’t be where I am today. Dubuque taught me the meaning of community by pulling me up and putting me on an even playing field with everybody else. Today, I see the Community Foundation doing that same thing for the entire region.

At Camp Courageous, I say we’re only limited by our imaginations, and that’s true of the Community Foundation, as well. By supporting the Community Foundation, there’s no limit to what can happen. You can make a difference today, tomorrow and in the future when you give to it. By pooling our resources, we can do big things.

Learn how you can strengthen our community by giving to the Greater Dubuque Forever Fund, an endowment for the future of our region. Click here