KSM Lagos to raise N2bn endowment for sustainable charity programmes

Lagos, Sept. 2, 2026  — The Lagos Metropolitan Council of the Knights of St. Mulumba (KSM) has announced plans to establish a N2 billion Endowment Fund to provide long-term financing for its charitable programmes.

The Metropolitan Grand Knight, Sir Nosa Ehigiator, made this known on Wednesday when a delegation of the council visited the Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Most Rev. Alfred Adewale Martins.

The fundraising programme is scheduled for Sept. 26 at St. Leo Catholic Church, Ikeja, Lagos.

Ehigiator explained that the proposed fund would operate as a permanent investment pool, with its principal preserved while investment returns were used to finance approved charitable initiatives.

He said the arrangement was aimed at reducing the organisation’s dependence on members’ dues, levies and other contributions, which he said had become insufficient to meet its growing responsibilities.

According to him, the prevailing economic difficulties also made it necessary to develop a more sustainable funding mechanism for the organisation’s activities.

He noted that continued dependence on dues and levies could make membership less attractive to young people.

Ehigiator said the N2 billion target was expected to provide a lasting financial foundation for KSM Lagos Metro’s charitable mission.

He added that the initiative was being pursued alongside the Endowment Fund concept at the Supreme Council level of KSM Nigeria, with the objective of creating a sustainability framework at both levels.

The Metropolitan Grand Knight linked the initiative to the increasing humanitarian needs in society.

He recalled that the council’s Feed the Hungry programme had been transformed into “Helping Hands” as the number of people requiring assistance continued to rise.

“The population of the needy is growing,” he said.

Ehigiator said proceeds from the endowment would expand KSM’s capacity to assist with school fees, skills acquisition and other forms of intervention, while also enhancing its support for the Church.

He listed healthcare, education, assistance to widows and orphans, prison apostolate, legal aid and social justice among the areas the fund would prioritise.

Other areas, he said, would include assistance to victims of violence and crime, internal welfare, prison decongestion and the reintegration of released inmates.

He said at least 1,600 inmates in Lagos, Abeokuta and Ijebu-Ode were awaiting release from custody and would benefit from the initiative.

To ensure proper administration of the fund, Ehigiator said its management structure would comprise a Board of Trustees, Investment Committee, independent custodian, licensed fund managers, Grants and Programmes Committee, Finance and Audit Committee, as well as external auditors.

He described the endowment as a move away from short-term fundraising towards a model of long-term financial sustainability.

The objective, he said, was to ensure that KSM’s service to the Church and society could be sustained across generations.

Responding, Martins commended the initiative as a noble one.

The archbishop said the Archdiocese of Lagos had for years considered providing temporary accommodation and support to released inmates until they could be reunited with their families.

He also called for greater consideration of alternatives to imprisonment, including community service, and urged sustained advocacy for the decongestion of correctional and custodial centres.

Martins received the KSM Endowment Fund Donor Information Brochure from the delegation and prayed for the council members.