The Math of Forever Giving - How Endowments Work (In Plain English)
How can one donation create impact forever? This article breaks down the simple math behind endowments - how invested capital generates perpetual returns, how funds grow over time, and why Infinite Generosity’s model makes forever giving possible for everyone.
THE ECONOMICS OF GENEROSITY
Rimantas Leimantas
9/29/20251 min read
Most donations follow a familiar pattern:
Money in. Impact made. Money gone.
A €1,000 donation today might feed families, fund equipment, or support a project — and that’s good. But within weeks or months, it’s over. The impact is temporary, and the need returns.
Meanwhile, the world’s most powerful foundations - like Harvard’s €50+ billion endowment or the Gates Foundation - don’t spend donations.
They invest them.
Only the returns are given away.
The Secret of Perpetual Giving
Let’s break it down with simple numbers:
Scenario 1: You donate €10,000 and it’s spent
Year 1 Impact: €10,000 (once)
Year 10 Impact: €0
Year 50 Impact: €0
Year 100 Impact: €0
Scenario 2: You donate €10,000 into an ethical investment endowment
Year 1 Impact: €500 (at 5% annual distribution)
Year 10 Impact: €5,000 total (while original €10,000 is still intact)
Year 50 Impact: €25,000+ (and still growing)
Year 100 Impact: €50,000+
Bottom line: 5x more impact than giving it all once!
This is exactly how Harvard funds €2+ billion in scholarships and research every year - without reducing its principal. They’ve mastered the formula:
Generate 8–10% average return - distribute only 4–5% - reinvest the rest - grow forever.
Ethical Growth, Not Blind Profit
At Infinite Generosity Foundation, we follow the same structure - but with one key difference:
We only invest in sectors that align with human and planetary good. No fossil fuels. No weapons. No exploitation. Instead: renewable energy, sustainable infrastructure, education, healthcare, housing, innovation and everything that makes our lives and the planer better!
Your generosity doesn’t just last forever - it grows for the right reasons creating impact by itself.
This Is How the Wealthy Give - And Now Anyone Can
Harvard didn’t become Harvard because it spent its money.
It became Harvard because it protected and multiplied its generosity.
The rich don’t give more. They give smarter.
And now - so can you.
Would you like your donation to be gone in a moment - or growing for generations?