PLANNED GIVING & ENDOWMENTSThe most powerful give MEF can receive is one that funds Malibu’s students permanently.
Annual giving keeps our programs running. Endowment gifts and planned giving keeps them running forever.
THE MEF ENDOWMENT
Since our founding in 2024, MEF has committed between $400,000 and $775,000 annually to Malibu’s students, funding the staff and programs that keep every school moving forward.
Our $25M MEF Endowment goal would cover that commitment permanently, entirely from investment returns, while keeping our operating costs lean and our fundraising focused on growth, not maintenance.
Every dollar MEF raises today goes directly to funding the staff and programs Malibu students need right now. But as long as MEF is focused on sustaining today’s needs, we can’t fully focus on tomorrow’s ambition. The endowment changes that. When MEF’s operating budget is covered by investment returns, our annual fundraising becomes fuel for growth, not maintenance. New programs. Deeper academic support. Expanded arts and enrichment. The kind of sustained, compounding investment that makes Malibu’s schools the best in California.
We are in the early stages of building the MEF endowment. Th founding contributions made now will be the ones remembered the longest, by the students who benefit from them, and by the community that made them possible.
THE VAN DYKE ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS
Arlene and Dick Van Dyke have dedicated decades to the arts in Malibu, as supporters, champions, and believers in what the performing arts can do for young people. In recognition of that commitment, the current Malibu High School Theater has been named the Dick and Arlene Van Dyke Theater.
That naming carries a purpose beyond recognition. The Van Dyke Endowment for the Arts was established with a stated goal of $3,000,000, and endowment that, at full funding, would meaningfully support the Visual and Performing Arts program, staff and facility needs across all four Malibu public schools. Interest income from the endowment contributes towards funding of arts programming at both elementary schools and Malibu middle and High School.
The Van Dyke’s participation in the launch event for the endowment and theater naming helped to raise $200,000 for the endowment. When the endowment reaches $3,000,000, the Van Dyke name will carry forward to the theater in the new Performing Arts Center planned for phase three of the Malibu middle and high school campus project.
Each contribution to the Van Dyke Endowment for the Arts brings us closer to the $3M goal and to permanently funding the arts across every Malibu schools, in the name of a legend who has given this community so much.
Founding donors to the Van Dyke Endowment — those who have contributed $10,000 or more — are being recognized permanently on the Arlene and Dick Van Dyke Theater donor wall, and will be listed here in honor of their commitment to Malibu's arts legacy.
WAYS TO MAKE A PLANNED GIFT TO MEF
CHARITABLE REMAINDER TRUST
Contribute assets to a trust that pays you income during your lifetime, with the remainder going to MEF. This structure can provide meaningful tax advantages while creating a lasting gift for Malibu's students.
DONOR-ADVISED FUND
If you have a donor-advised fund, MEF can receive grants directly. Contributions to your DAF may also be eligible for immediate tax benefits while allowing you to recommend MEF as a recipient over time.
BEQUEST
Include MEF in your will or living trust. A bequest of any size — a specific dollar amount, a percentage of your estate, or a residual gift — creates a permanent legacy for Malibu's students. This is the most common form of planned gift and can be arranged with a simple addition to your existing estate documents.
BENEFICIARY DESIGNATION
Name MEF as a beneficiary of your IRA, 401(k), life insurance policy, or other financial account. This is often the simplest planned gift to arrange and can be updated at any time without changing your will.
Let’s TALK
Planned giving and endowment conversations are personal. There is no standard package and not pressure. If you are thinking ab out a long-term gift to MEF, at any level, we would like that have that conversation at any pace that makes sense for you.
Fill out the form below, or contact Karin Al-Hardan directly at karin@malibueducationfoundation.org. MEF is happy to work with your financial advisor or estate attorney to structure a gift that reflects your intentions and your values.
MEF is a California 501(c)(3) nonprofit public benefit corporation. EIN: 99-1029697. All gifts are tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law. A copy of our most recent Form 990 is available upon request.
