The Hindu Heritage Endowment§
The aadheenams (spiritual centers) of South India have traditionally supported Hindu organizations such as temples, orphanages and priest training schools. In ancient times, farmlands and shops owned by these monastic-run institutions supplied the revenue for their charitable work. Today, aadheenam endowments include stocks and bonds. The charitable activities of Kauai’s Hindu Monastery, more global than local, are responsibly overseen by a separate organization, Hindu Heritage Endowment (HHE), which Gurudeva founded in 1994. HHE’s numerous funds provide income in perpetuity to Hindu institutions such as 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 and philosophical research centers, ayurveda and jyotisha, the missions of various swamis and institutes for music, art, drama, dance and yoga. A Hindu organization in any country worldwide can create an HHE fund to sustain its mission. ¶Contributions to an HHE fund become forever a part of its principal, which can never be removed, but perpetually yields annual grants, generated by investment gains, that can be used only for the fund’s stated purpose and are regularly distributed to the beneficiaries to further their goals. HHE now comprises over 75 funds, totaling over $14 million. These assets are professionally overseen by Halbert Hargrove, LLC of Long Beach, California, respected for their utilization of multi-manager institutional mutual funds. ¶Individuals can donate to existing funds or create new funds for their favorite Hindu charities or causes. Contributions to an HHE fund can be made through an outright gift 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 or gift annuity. All contributions to HHE funds are tax-deductible in the US, while the beneficiaries can be anywhere in the world.§