County 4-H Program Endowments
An endowment is a fund that is held permanently. The corpus of the fund is invested and held intact, and the earnings from the fund are used to support 4-H programs.
Named County 4-H Endowments
Donors who want to make a sustained investment in the county 4-H program where they were a 4-H member or volunteer, can do so with the creation of a named county endowment fund. The Michigan 4-H Foundation annually grants proceeds from county endowed funds to a county 4-H program to support out-of-county 4-H learning experiences and events; 4-H youth recognition and post-secondary scholarships; 4-H teen and volunteer training sponsorships; or simply to assist with the annual cost of program delivery in a county. Learn more about endowment basics.
General County 4-H Endowments
General county 4-H endowment funds are not named in a donor’s name and provide annual support for local program delivery, development of new programs and learning materials, or any future areas of greatest need to advance the county program. New funds may be established for counties that do not have an existing endowment.
Learn more about endowment basics.
A majority of the general 4-H county 4-H endowment funds were established and/or grown through the Make the Match 4-H County Endowment Match Campaign from 2013-2019. Thanks to an investment from match pool donors, a 1:1 match was provided for each county endowment, up to $50,000.
Leadership match pool donors were: The Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation, The Rollin M. Gerstacker Foundation, Gary and Eiko Seevers and the Seevers Family Foundation, Lana Dart, Noel and Sandra Stuckman, Arlon and Shirley Elser, Donald and Rebecca Jost, Dale and Sara Stuby, Wayne and Faye Adam, Larry and Julie Chapin, Thomas and Rhonda Coon, and Lowell and Marilyn Rothert.
Counties with existing general 4-H endowments are:
- Allegan
- Arenac
- Barry
- Branch
- Calhoun
- Chippewa
- Clare
- Clinton
- Eaton
- Grand Traverse
- Gratiot
- Hillsdale
- Houghton-Keweenaw
- Ingham
- Ionia
- Iosco
- Isabella
- Kalkaska
- Kent
- Lapeer
- Lenawee
- Macomb
- Mason
- Midland
- Montcalm
- Muskegon
- Oakland
- Ogemaw
- Osceola
- Ottawa
- Sanilac
- Shiawassee
- St. Clair
- St. Joseph
- Washtenaw
- Wayne
Additional gifts are welcome to grow these funds.
For more information about Michigan 4-H Foundation endowments, contact Abbey Miller at (517) 353-4433 or email abmiller@msu.edu.
Thank you!
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The Wayne & Faye Adam Endowment Fund for Sanilac County
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Wendall Barnes Memorial Fund (Wexford)
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Barry County 4-H Scholarship Fund
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Wayland Hart Memorial Fund (Washtenaw)
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Ada May & Webb Harwood 4-H Memorial Endowment Fund (Washtenaw)
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Carroll J. and Elaine Hass Endowment for St. Joseph County
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Burrell E. Henry Scholarship Fund (Calhoun)
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Houghton-Keweenaw 4-H Senior Scholarship
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Ralph E. & Betty J. Kirch Endowment Fund (Cass & Kalamazoo)
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Frank Molinare Memorial Fund (Dickinson)
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Andrew L. Olson Scholarship Fund (Grand Traverse)
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Elmer & Rose Peterson Memorial 4-H Endowment (Mason)
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Richard J. Pollard Dickinson County 4-H Endowment
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The Rorabaugh Family 4-H Endowment (Iron, Menominee and Mecosta)
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Lee G. and K. Joanna Schwenk Fund for Kalamazoo County 4-H
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Rolan and Bernice Sleight 4-H Memorial Scholarship Fund (Clinton)
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Earl W. and Suzanne Threadgould Endowment for Ingham County
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Erin Van Sickle Memorial Fund (Livingston)