Donor Advised Funds for Families

Helping your family build a tradition of giving.

Opening a Donor Advised Fund allows your family to make a gift to your Community Foundation, then remain actively involved in suggesting uses for your gift.

How it works:

• Your family makes a gift to your Community Foundation — you can give cash, appreciated stocks, real estate, or other assets.
• We set up a special fund in your family’s name.
• Your family receives tax benefits in the year your gift is made.
• Your family recommends uses for the fund — working with our professional program staff to support the causes and organizations you care about most.
• Your recommendations are presented to our Community Foundation board for approval.
• We handle all the administrative details and issue grants to charities in the name of the fund your family establishes (if you prefer, grants can be made anonymously).
• Your gift can be placed into an endowment that is invested over time.

Earnings from your fund are used to make grants addressing community needs. Your gift — and all future earnings from your gift — is a permanent source of community capital, helping to do good work forever.

More benefits.
Donor Advised Funds provide a convenient, flexible way for your family to get involved with your community and with one another. This type of fund is typically less costly to administer than other forms of philanthropic giving (such as a private foundation), but it still allows you to establish a charitable legacy in your family’s name, fulfill multiple charitable interests, and teach giving values to the next generation.

By working through your Community Foundation, you can choose to combine your gift with others to increase the impact in areas your family cares about most.  Gifts typically qualify for maximum tax benefit, and you take advantage of the expertise of our professional program staff and investment managers. Your family can establish a fund today and make grant recommendations now or in the future.