Video: Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami, president of Hindu Heritage Endowment, and Sannyasin Shanmuganathaswami, endowment administrator, introduce the purpose and goals of HHE and its benefits for Hindu institutions and activities worldwide.
In
1994 Gurudeva established the Hindu Heritage Endowment as an instrument
to permanently endow Hindu institutions so that no matter what the
world's economic condition, they will continue fulfilling their purpose.
He did this for his own Kauai's Hindu Monastery and Iraivan temple, but
he structured HHE so that anyone can establish an endowment fund within
it to strengthen Hindu religious and cultural traditions throughout the
world, with confidence that the funds will be responsibly overseen.
By law, even the directors of HHE cannot remove or
use the funds for anything other than the fund's stated purpose.
This guards against future generations changing the funds'
original intent and purpose. Once
contributions are put in an endowment fund, they cannot be removed or
used for anything other than the fund's stated purpose. A portion of the
investment income is added to the principal, to keep up with inflation,
and the balance is used for the project.
You or an institution you are part of can participate in HHE by donating to an established fund or by creating a new fund. Contributions are tax-deductible in the US. An HHE endowment can benefit a charity that is dedicated to traditional Hindu principles and practices in any country of the world. A wide variety of activities can be endowed. Examples are: temples, festivals and feedings, orphanages, children's retreat camps, youth education, ashrams and mathas, religious publications, pilgrimage sites, priest training centers, support for pundits, shelters for sadhus, elderly homes, scriptural or philosophical research centers, support of ayurveda and jyotisha or a swami's movement or projects, and institutes for music, art, drama, dance and yoga. Grants are regularly distributed to the beneficiaries to use in furthering their plans and goals.
There are over 70 individual funds within HHE, which together exceed $10 million. These funds are professionally overseen by Halbert, Hargrove/Russell LLC of Long Beach, California, respected for their utilization of multi-manager institutional mutual funds engaging over 100 investment managers. Gifts to an HHE fund can be made in several ways, including outright gifts of cash, securities or real estate, a bequest through a will or living trust, life insurance or a gift through a life income plan, such as a charitable remainder trust, gift annuity or pooled income fund.
April/May/June 2008 Progress Report
Read about a fund established by a man to honor his Bangladeshi father. More...
Newest Articles on Planned Giving, Updated Monthly
How to get the most out of your IRA, create a better will, strategies for doubling your benefits and more. More...
