Thirteen years after it was established, the Dosher Memorial Hospital Foundation is ready to take a big step into the future. Foundation officials announced Tuesday they are setting up an endowment investment fund to support the Southport-based hospital, now in its 10th decade of service.
 
“The Dosher Foundation’s Endowment Fund will provide an opportunity for our donors to make a lasting impact on local healthcare through the steady source of income that an endowment provides,” Dosher President and CEO Lynda Stanley said in a news release. “We are grateful for everyone who supports the Dosher Foundation and the difference they make in our community.”
 
Donors will have options: Endowments can be established for a specific purpose or for unrestricted general support. Donors can also specify that the fund’s capital be invested and the income used to support a specific area of health care. That way, the principal is protected and only the income – or a portion of the income – is spent. 
 
Once an endowment is established within the fund, other donors may contribute to it or start their own endowment. For gifts of $100,000 or more, donors can name their endowment, Antonette “Toni” McAndrews, the foundation’s development specialist, said Tuesday.                 
 
The endowment fund is new, with no gifts declared as yet, but foundation officials hope that potential donors will take advantage of the new opportunity, McAndrews added, saying, “People like the idea of making a difference over the long term.”
 
In addition to cash gifts, donors may give stock, retirement plan assets or real estate. They can fulfill pledges over time or make deferred gifts.  
 
After an endowment has been established, additional gifts can be added to it at any time, either during a donor’s lifetime or through their estate, according to the release. Income can be designated according to the donor’s wishes.
 
Dosher Memorial Hospital, originally named Brunswick County Hospital, opened in 1930, staffed by two local pioneering doctors and a staff of five. Money to build and equip the new facility came from local tax levies, a bond referendum and a $15,000 grant from the James B. Duke Endowment. The hospital now employs a staff of more than 300 front-line and administrative people.