Sections
Whatever your charitable interests, we offer simple, flexible, and rewarding ways to give — whether you are giving $1,000 or $110,000.
Fund Type vs. Fund Structure
How does a Fund Type differ from a Fund Structure?
Fund Type
A fund type is defined by its purpose, the means used to disburse grants, and level of donor involvement. See various fund type options below.
Fund Structure
A fund structure determines a fund’s asset investment and associated administrative fees. Fund structures are selected to match the envisioned life of the fund and the frequency of distributions. See various fund structure options below.
Fund Types & Structures
Don’t hesitate to contact us if you have questions.
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.
After identifying the fund that best fits your objectives, you will need to select a fund structure based on the anticipated size, activity level, and life span of your fund. Fund structures determine administrative fees, if any, and how fund assets are invested. If your fund assets are in excess of $1 million you can recommend alternative investment advisors or managers for your funds.
Spend Down
In spend down funds, the gift principal is wholly available for granting. We do not charge administrative fees on spend down funds and there is no restriction on the number of grants that you can disburse. Income earned on these funds accrues to benefit the Community Foundation’s operating fund. Spend down funds are charitable checking accounts that support regular, ongoing grant activity.
Endowment
Endowment funds provide stable, perennial financial support. Endowments operate similarly to private foundations that yield a set percentage for granting each year while eliminating administration. You can recommend grant recipients or pass your charitable legacy to your children. Investment income accrues to the fund. We assess quarterly administrative fees based on a percentage of assets to support the Foundation’s operations.
Investors Circle
Investors Circle fund holders participate in our investment portfolio. These funds can be structured as either Spend Down or Endowment Funds, though they are not formally endowed. Investment income accrues to the fund. We assess quarterly administrative fees based on a percentage of assets, which supports the Foundation’s operations.
Investment Management
Contributions of all sizes to funds held at the Community Foundation help to empower thoughtful philanthropic investment in our community and beyond.
Since 1989, donors have trusted us to intelligently manage and responsibly allocate charitable resources. Together, much has been accomplished, and all of our lives have been enriched.
Prudent stewardship of funds is our priority. Our fund management objectives are twofold. To:
- Preserve and grow principal
- Manage risk
Our philosophy is to provide long-term sources of funding that benefit both fund holders and nonprofits. To pursue this strategy, we rely on the professional judgment of our investment advisors along with the local oversight of our knowledgeable and experienced Investment Committee.
Our pooled investments create an economy of scale that provides access to advisors, managers, and investment options that would not otherwise be available to small organizations.
Our experienced staff work along side the Investment Committee and Canterbury Consulting to ensure the Community Foundation’s investment portfolio is properly stewarded. The Investment Committee is a Board of Directors subcommittee responsible for implementing the investment policies established by the Board and making recommendations to the Board or Executive Committee with respect to possible changes in those policies. Our investment advisor, Canterbury Consulting, is consistent in implementing our investment policy, focusing on risk-adjusted returns. We adhere to a board-approved Statement of Investment Objectives and Policies, the Uniform Management of Institutional Funds Act, and the Uniform Prudent Investor Act.
You have a choice of three investment pools: Long-Term Endowment, Intermediate, Short-Term. Learn more here.
We allocate the costs associated with investment management proportionally to the individual Endowment and Investors Circle funds that hold those investments. Investment management fees, which vary over time depending on changes to the mix of assets, currently represent about 1% of assets under management.
The Community Foundation offers a free and secure online tracking system that lets fundholders view fund activity and recommend grants online 24/7, as a service to our fundholders. Fundholders may contribute to, review activity in, and manage your fund(s).
Getting Started with your Fundholder Portal
The Community Foundation offers a free and secure online tracking system that lets fundholders view fund activity and recommend grants online 24/7 as a service to our fundholders.
If you are not signed up to use Donor View, contact the Community Foundation (307) 739‑1026 to obtain your confidential user ID and password.
First, login to Donor View to view your fund(s) information. Select any of the figures shown to obtain a detailed transaction record. You can also use Donor View to recommend grants, print fund statements and perform other functions.
If you have a question or are having technical difficulties, contact Bronwen Fitzsimons, (307) 739‑1026. We are happy to help.