The process is easy:
• Decide the purpose, area of interest, and/or geographic area you want your fund to serve.
• Contact our office. Call 478-2930 or e-mail tcf1@frontiernet.net
• Provide background information for the fund description.
• Make the initial deposit in accordance with minimum fund requirements (see below).
• The Fund Description is submitted to the Board of Directors for approval.
• Upon approval, the Fund will be announced and “open” to receive subsequent donations.
Why establish an Endowed Fund?
• The Fund will be there for perpetuity.
• Principal donations are invested and only the income generated is awarded.
• It’s a wonderful way to pay tribute to the memory or honor of a loved one.
• There are significant tax advantages for contributions to a community foundation.
• Creating an Endowed Fund of TCF allows the donor to name the fund and determine the distribution guidelines.
• The person(s) that makes the initial deposit is considered the Fund Advisor(s).
• Fund Advisors receive reports on their Endowed Fund activity annually.
Funds can be designed to meet different needs depending on the desire of the donor. Areas of interest to our donors include, but are not limited to the following options:
ARTS
ANIMAL WELFARE
RECREATION
HEALTH
YOUTH
EDUCATION
HISTORIC PRESERVATION
GENERAL SOCIAL (CHARITABLE) INVESTMENT
SCHOLARSHIP
UNRESTRICTED*
* this category allows for maximum flexibility in awarding the money where it is most needed.
Initiated funds have 5 years to meet the minimum fund requirement. It is then considered estalished. A fund must be established before grant or scholarship awards can be distributed.
MINIMUM FUND REQUIREMENTS
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UNRESTRICTED:
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FIELD OF INTEREST:
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DESIGNATED:
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SCHOLARSHIP:
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AGENCY ENDOWED:
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DONOR ADVISED:
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Financial Benefits and Tax Advantages
Because community foundations manage a large number of unrestricted funds, administrative costs and service fees for any one fund are minimized, meaning less overhead cost to the donor’s fund.
The Federal Tax Code provides significant incentives for contributions to a community foundation. Gifts to community foundations during the donor’s lifetime are deductible to the maximum extent permissible under current tax laws for gifts of cash, an amount equal to 50% of Adjusted Gross Income. If in any year the donations exceed the percentage limitation prescribed by law, the excess may be carried over for the next five years.
There is also a significant benefit in the deductibility of gifts of appreciated property to community foundations. The full, fair market value of such gifts (long-term capital gain property such as stocks and bonds, real estate, or personal property) is deductible up to 30 percent of Adjusted Gross Income.
