The Serendib Endowment · Founding Proposal

What is an endowment?

An endowment is a simple but powerful idea: you contribute money once, it is invested permanently, and only the returns are given away — never the original amount. The principal stays intact and keeps growing, so the giving never stops.

Think of it like a fruit tree. You plant it once. Every year it bears fruit, which you give away. The tree itself is never cut down. Year after year, the harvest grows as the tree matures — and it can do this for generations.

This is how the world's great universities and foundations fund themselves sustainably. Harvard's endowment — now over US$50 billion — was built on exactly this model: contributions made over centuries, invested carefully, with distributions funding scholarships, research, and faculty every single year. Harvard will likely still be giving from that fund 100 years from now.

The Serendib Endowment works on the same principle, applied with humility and purpose to communities in Sri Lanka. Our scale is different. Our intent is identical.

The endowment model

The tree grows each year.
The fruit is given away.
The roots are never touched.

Serendib /ˌser.ənˈdɪb/ proper noun

From Arabic Sarandīb, from Sanskrit Siṃhaladvīpa (“island of the Sinhalese”)

1. The ancient Arabic and Persian name for Sri Lanka, used by traders and navigators of the Indian Ocean for over a thousand years. First recorded in texts from the 9th century.

2. Origin of the English word serendipity — the faculty of making happy and unexpected discoveries by chance. Coined by Horace Walpole in 1754 from the Persian fairy tale The Three Princes of Serendib.

Why this name

We chose Serendib because it reaches past the modern political name to something older and more enduring — the island as the world has known it for centuries, a place of richness and wonder. This endowment honours that identity: giving back to Sri Lanka not as a contemporary state, but as the ancient, storied place that has always meant something deeper to those who know it.

How the fund works

The mechanics are straightforward. Money comes in as contributions, is invested in a diversified portfolio, and a portion of the returns is distributed to communities in Sri Lanka each year. The rest is retained to grow the corpus.

Contributions are made by founding donors

Each contribution — large or small — becomes a permanent part of the corpus. It is never spent. It is the seed that generates giving forever.

The corpus is invested in a diversified portfolio

Held in the charity's name with a licensed Australian investment platform, following a formal investment policy. We target a conservative 7% annual return based on long-run market history.

5.5% is distributed annually to Sri Lanka

Sent through trusted relationships on the ground — books for schools, shoes for children, food for families facing hardship. Every cent is documented.

We aim to distribute 2 to 6 times per year, with the goal of increasing frequency as the fund grows. More money means more visits, more communities, more moments of giving. In a difficult year — when returns fall short — we may reduce the size or frequency of distributions. We will never touch the corpus. The principal is permanently protected.

1.5% is retained to grow the corpus

This buffer protects against bad years and compounds the fund's value over time — meaning distributions grow every single year, indefinitely.

You receive a personal update after every distribution

Photos from the ground, a note about the communities visited, and a clear record of what was given and to whom. Full transparency, always.

Why an endowment?

Give in perpetuity

Your contribution never runs out. One gift becomes an infinite stream of giving — to communities you will never meet, in years you will never see.

Distributions grow

Because a portion of returns is reinvested each year, the annual amount reaching Sri Lanka increases every year. The fund becomes more impactful over time.

Direct giving

No overhead-heavy intermediaries. Distributions reach communities through trusted personal relationships built over many years on the ground.

Formally structured

TSE is registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC). Your contribution is legally protected and dedicated permanently to this purpose.

Registered Australian Charity · ACNC · ABN pending

Financial projections

The model below shows how the fund grows over 25 years under three scenarios: the fund at its current A$15,000 corpus, at the A$50,000 founding target, and at the A$75,000 stretch goal. Use the sliders to model any scenario.

7.0%Return assumption

5.5%Distribution rate

+A$10kAnnual new donations

1.5%Corpus growth buffer

Adjust assumptions

Annual return assumption 7.0%

Historical diversified ETF average: ~9–10%

Distribution rate 5.5%

Portion of corpus distributed each year

Annual new donations A$10k

Thousands per year (can be zero)

Starting corpus A$50k

Initial fund size to model

Healthy: fund retains 1.5% annually, distributing sustainably while growing principal.

By year 25, annual distributions reach ..., approximately ... more than in year 1. The original principal is untouched.

Year	Fund size	Annual distribution	LKR (indicative only)	Investment return	Retained

AUD figures are the primary projection. LKR figures use today's approximate rate of 238 LKR per AUD for illustration only — the LKR has been historically volatile, with annual swings of 10–70% in recent years (including a 74% movement in 2022 during Sri Lanka's economic crisis). Actual purchasing power in Sri Lanka will vary significantly over a 25-year horizon. Assumes A$10k annual new donations. Investment returns are not guaranteed.

Frequently asked questions

I have tried to anticipate the questions you are most likely to have. If anything else comes to mind, please reach out directly.

A contribution to TSE is a genuine donation, given permanently — and that permanence is what makes the fund work. Because the principal is never spent, it keeps generating returns and giving to communities in Sri Lanka indefinitely. If there is any chance you might need the money back, please do not contribute it. Only give what you are comfortable parting with permanently. There is no minimum amount and no pressure at all.

Not initially. TSE will be registered as an Australian charity with the ACNC, but will not hold Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) status at the outset — meaning contributions are not tax deductible at this stage. DGR status requires additional steps and takes time to obtain. It is something we are actively working toward as the fund establishes itself. Most people giving to TSE are doing so because of the cause itself, not the tax receipt.

Distributions reach communities through a trusted network of relationships on the ground in Sri Lanka, built over many years. Goods are purchased locally — books, shoes, food — and delivered directly to the communities identified through those relationships. Funds are transferred via standard bank or remittance channels in the charity's name. Every distribution is documented with photos and receipts, and you will receive a personal update after each giving round.

You will receive two types of updates. After each distribution to Sri Lanka, all contributors receive a personal update: photos from the ground, a note about the communities visited, and a clear record of what was given and to whom. Once a year, you will also receive a brief annual fund performance report covering investment returns, the total amount distributed, and how the corpus has grown. The goal is full transparency — you should always know where your contribution is, how it is growing, and what it is doing.

This is one of the most important reasons for formalising the fund as a registered charity. A registered charity has its own independent legal identity — it belongs to no single person. TSE has at least two responsible persons (directors), and the governing constitution sets out clearly what happens in every scenario. The fund's assets are legally protected and must remain dedicated to the charitable purpose. Your contribution keeps giving regardless of what happens to any individual involved in running the fund.

The fund is built with a deliberate buffer between what it earns and what it distributes. We target a 7% annual return but distribute only 5.5%, retaining 1.5% to grow the corpus. In practice the buffer is larger: the historical long-run return of a diversified portfolio is closer to 9–10% per year, so most years the fund earns well above our conservative assumption.

In a genuinely bad year, we have a clear policy: we slow down. Distributions may be smaller, less frequent, or temporarily deferred. We aim for 2 to 6 distributions per year under normal conditions — in a difficult year that number may fall. What will never happen, under any circumstances, is touching the corpus. The principal contributed by donors is permanently protected. This is not just our intention — it is a structural commitment embedded in how the fund is governed.

The fund is designed for decades, not individual years. A bad year is noise. The direction of travel is always forward.

TSE operates under a formal Investment Policy Statement (IPS) that governs how the corpus is managed. The policy is designed to preserve capital over the long term while generating reliable returns sufficient to fund annual distributions and grow the corpus.

In summary, the fund targets a broadly diversified, low-cost portfolio guided by five principles:

Growth-oriented — primarily equities, weighted toward broad market exposure across Australian and international markets.

Low cost — preference for index-style investments that minimise fees and preserve returns for distributions.

Long-term horizon — the fund is managed for decades, not quarters. Short-term volatility is expected and tolerated.

Ethically screened — the fund excludes investments in industries inconsistent with its humanitarian purpose, including weapons, tobacco, and fossil fuel extraction. We favour investments that meet recognised ESG (environmental, social, and governance) standards.

Conservative distribution rate — distributing only 5.5% against a 7% return target ensures a buffer in most years, protecting the principal.

The full Investment Policy Statement is available to any contributor on request.

Absolutely. The fund is designed to grow over time and will always welcome contributions, whether a single gift now or smaller amounts added each year. Both are equally valued and both become a permanent part of the corpus. Every additional contribution directly increases the annual distributions reaching communities in Sri Lanka — not just once, but every year thereafter, in perpetuity.

Immediate next steps

The concept is clear. The structure is simple. Here is what we need to move from proposal to reality.

Step 1

Share your thoughts

Tell us what you think. Does this resonate with you? Do you have questions, concerns, or suggestions? Your input will shape how we move forward. Please reach out directly — this is a conversation between friends, not a formal process.

Step 2 · Most important

Make a commitment

If this idea speaks to you, we would love to have you as a founding contributor. There is no fixed amount and no pressure. A commitment now — even before the fund is fully set up — helps us demonstrate intent to others and raise the founding corpus. The actual transfer happens once the charity is registered and the account is open.

Make my commitment →

Step 3

Watch your generosity reach Sri Lanka