You may establish a new fund at the Community Foundation or give to an existing fund.   Below are descriptions of the types of funds available, all funds can memorialize an individual or family. 

Discretionary (Unrestricted and Field of Interest)
Discretionary funds allow the donor to create a permanent fund to carry out his/her charitable intentions by giving grantmaking discretion to the Foundation.   This may be done by leaving the annual grantmaking decisions entirely to the Foundation’s Grants Committee which reviews all proposals for funding. (Unrestricted).  A donor may also specify a broad field of interest such as the environment, arts, education, or a specific community or geographic region (Field of Interest) to guide the committee.  In addition, a discretionary fund may be used to provide annual support to help carry out our grantmaking role.

Donor Advised
Advised funds allow the donor, or persons designated by the donor, the opportunity to make periodic recommendations to the Community Foundation for grants to be made from the fund.   Such grants are made in accordance with the donor’s interest.  Advised funds are excellent vehicles for donors to set aside charitable dollars now and distribute them gradually over time.   Donors often regard Advised funds as charitable investment accounts, using a portion of the fund’s income to support their favorite charities annually or as needs arise.   Donors may also designate their children, or others, as “successor advisors” to recommend grants from the fund.   Upon the death of the last designated successor advisor, an Advised fund becomes a Discretionary fund or Field of Interest fund within the Foundation, with the annual grant allocations determined thereafter by the Governing Board.

Scholarship
Scholarship funds enable the donor to provide ongoing financial assistance for students at qualified educational institutions. Funds can benefit students from a particular school or community, those planning to attend a specific school or those pursuing a specific field of study.   Scholarship funds must have defined eligibility criteria.  A designated scholarship committee will select recipients. Such committees can consist of the Community Foundation’s Scholarship Committee or school personnel (i.e. high school scholarship committee).

Agency Endowments
Agency Endowment funds are established by area nonprofit organizations as a means of providing a perpetual income stream for their own operations and programs. Such funds are typically established with an agency placing all or part of its endowment (as distinct from its operating reserve) with the Foundation. Agency funds are invested as part of the Foundation’s investment pool, but are tracked as distinct funds.   The Foundation annually distributes a portion the fund back to the agency according to a pre-determined spending formula, which is carefully calculated to enable funds to grow over the long term while providing a reliable income stream. Agency funds give participating nonprofit organizations the opportunity to partner with the Foundation for endowment management, taking advantage of our investment pool’s economy of scale and professional, endowment-oriented investment management approach.   The Foundation also offers endowment building expertise and planned giving services to help nonprofit organizations grow their permanent funds at the Community Foundation.

Donor Designated
Donor designated funds allow the donor to provide permanent ongoing support to one or more of their favorite nonprofit organizations. When establishing a designated fund, donors specify one or more organizations to receive an annual distribution from the fund in perpetuity. Such funds can be established by an outright gift during the donor's lifetime or through a planned gift such as a bequest, charitable gift annuity, reminder trust, etc.

Passthrough
Passthrough funds are non-invested, temporary funds that the donor expects to have fully granted out during a relatively short period of time (usually within a year or two of inception). Donors often use passthrough funds as a way to issue grants to their favorite charities through the Foundation, or as a vehicle to receive a lump sum charitable contribution, while distributing the funds through smaller grants over a period of time. A passthrough fund can be used on its own, or in combination with an invested donor advised fund.  Passthrough grants may be attributed to the donor or remain anonymous.

Supporting Foundation (Supporting Organization)
A Supporting Foundation at the Community Foundation can be an excellent alternative for donors considering a private foundation.    Supporting foundations are freestanding 501(c)(3) organizations (technically called “Supporting Organizations”), that are established under special provisions of the Internal Revenue Code, to support the general mission of a "supported" public charity such as a community foundation.   A Community Foundation-stewarded supporting organization retains its distinct identity, including separate legal status, its own governing board (which makes all grantmaking decisions), its own investment policies, corporate by-laws, etc. As required by law, the Community Foundation maintains control over each of its supporting foundations by appointing a majority of its directors – with the donors typically serving as and/or appointing the minority of directors.   With a supporting foundation, the donor and the board get to focus on and enjoy the grantmaking aspect of operating a charitable foundation, with the Community Foundation handling all financial, administrative, and regulatory reporting responsibilities.    Additionally, if structured as briefly described above, supporting foundations are considered public charities achieving significant tax advantages over private foundations. Unlike the Community Foundation donor advised funds, supporting foundations can also hold different types of illiquid assets, such as real estate and closely held stock. Supporting foundations do require a higher minimum establishing fund balance than other types of Community Foundation funds – please contact us to learn more.