Fund Types & Structures

Select­ing the most appro­pri­ate fund type can aug­ment your giv­ing, increase your grant­i­ng options, and sim­pli­fy your record keep­ing. Not sure about specifics? Don’t wor­ry, we have fund types that give you room to maneuver.

Affin­i­ty Funds
We can work with groups of non-relat­ed donors who share a com­mon vision to cre­ate affin­i­ty funds, pro­vid­ing an effi­cient vehi­cle to pool con­tri­bu­tions and process grants. One form of col­lec­tive phil­an­thropy, affin­i­ty groups work col­lab­o­ra­tive­ly to rec­om­mend grants that reflect their agreed-upon goals. Thurs­day Round­table is one affin­i­ty fund that we manage.

Agency Funds
Agency funds are an ide­al way to sim­pli­fy and enhance your non­prof­it organization’s asset man­age­ment by lever­ag­ing our pro­fes­sion­al man­age­ment, invest­ment com­mit­tee expe­ri­ence and port­fo­lio size. Non­prof­its can par­tic­i­pate in our endow­ment invest­ment port­fo­lio that they could not repli­cate on a stand-alone basis. Agency funds can pro­vide your orga­ni­za­tion with a per­ma­nent source of oper­at­ing income and pro­fes­sion­al­ly managed ​“rainy day” funds.

Award Funds
An award fund is a way to inspire and rec­og­nize excel­lence by award­ing mer­it-based grants to indi­vid­u­als or orga­ni­za­tions, based upon fund hold­ers’ goals. We can assist in devel­op­ing award cri­te­ria as well as the selec­tion process to max­i­mize impact and ensure com­pli­ance with IRS rules.

Com­pet­i­tive Grant Funds
Increase the impact of your gift and put it to work, solv­ing our community’s most press­ing chal­lenges. Our Grants Com­mit­tee care­ful­ly vets Com­pet­i­tive Grant appli­ca­tions and makes awards based on com­mu­ni­ty need, impact, and orga­ni­za­tion­al capac­i­ty. Gifts to sup­port this fund can be des­ig­nat­ed for spe­cif­ic areas includ­ing ani­mals, arts & cul­ture, human ser­vices, edu­ca­tion, con­ser­va­tion & envi­ron­ment, civic engage­ment and recreation.

Des­ig­nat­ed Funds
With des­ig­nat­ed funds, you iden­ti­fy one or more qual­i­fied non­prof­its or projects as ben­e­fi­cia­ries when you cre­ate the fund. Your gift can address either imme­di­ate or long-term needs, and we will han­dle all the asset man­age­ment and disbursements.

Donor Advised Funds
Donor advised funds offer max­i­mum flex­i­bil­i­ty for grant­i­ng with imme­di­ate tax ben­e­fits. By open­ing a donor advised fund, you lock in the tax deduc­tion for the cur­rent year and can then take time to set your char­i­ta­ble goals for the long term. Fund hold­ers retain the abil­i­ty to rec­om­mend grants to qual­i­fied char­i­ties in the U.S. or abroad, when­ev­er they wish. We take care of track­ing grantees, pro­cess­ing pay­ments, and report­ing. All of the joy of giv­ing with none of the admin­is­tra­tion – what could be bet­ter? You main­tain ongo­ing advi­so­ry involve­ment and can also name chil­dren, or any­one else, as addi­tion­al or suc­ces­sor advi­sors to your fund. 

Schol­ar­ship Funds
Schol­ar­ship funds help indi­vid­u­als pur­sue edu­ca­tion­al or pro­fes­sion­al goals and oppor­tu­ni­ties. Donors can con­tribute to exist­ing funds or start new ones, rec­om­mend schol­ar­ship guide­lines and par­tic­i­pate in the selec­tion process with the Com­mu­ni­ty Foundation’s Schol­ar­ship Committee.