Types of Funds

Anyone Can Be a Philanthropist

Determine the best way to meet your charitable goals:

• Will you want restrictions to a field of interest or a specific agency?
• Decide if you wish to participate in grantmaking decisions or leave that work up to the Community Foundation’s experts.
• Determine what types of gifts you will use to establish the nonprofit endowment fund. Donors have many options and the Community Foundation can accept a wide range of assets.
• Decide when to give. Are you are able to make an outright gift now or do you wish to consider using a planned gift to establish the fund.  A minimum of $10,000 is needed to establish the fund which can be built up over time.
• What will you name your fund?
• We will prepare a simple fund agreement letter and arrange to transfer your assets to the Community Foundation.

Choose the fund type that meets your needs:

DONOR ADVISED FUND – This is a simple, powerful, personal approach to giving. After establishing your fund, you can manage your fund online through our password-protected DonorCentral portal. Our professional staff can help you identify short- and long-term goals, targeting the issues you care about most. Grants are issued to nonprofits in the name of the fund (or anonymously). Consider establishing a donor advised fund rather than a private foundation. Learn more about the benefits of working with the Community Foundation to establish a Donor Advised Fund in the Advisors Reference Guide.

UNRESTRICTED FUND (COMMUNITY IMPACT FUND) – Unrestricted funds allow us to respond quickly to our community’s needs and to address issues as they emerge. If you do not have a particular charitable field of interest and do not want to be involved in the details of grantmaking, donating to our unrestricted fund is a perfect choice.

FIELD-OF-INTEREST FUND – If you have a particular charitable passion, but do not want to be involved in the details of grantmaking, consider donating to a field-of-interest fund. We manage field-of-interest funds in several areas—arts, environment, healthcare and mental health, human services, basic needs, and at-risk women and girls—and call for grant proposals from nonprofit agencies to guide our funding in these areas.

DESIGNATED FUND – Designated funds are a way you can provide a steady,long-term source of income to nonprofit agencies that you care about. Because your gift is given through the Community Foundation, it provides the agencies with funding, as well as planned giving and investment management services.

SCHOLARSHIP FUND – When companies, organizations, families or individuals establish a scholarship fund with us, they give deserving students the opportunity to pursue academic dreams. Establish a legacy, honor a loved one or give back to your community or your alma mater. We will work with you to create, establish criteria for, and administer your fund.

AGENCY ENDOWMENT FUND – Nonprofit agencies establish these funds to build their “reserve” and ensure a long-term, dependable source of operating revenue. Our staff helps the agency with investment management and administrative details.
Click here for a list of agency funds owned and managed by the Community Foundation

GIVING CIRCLE – Giving circles enable participants to make collective funding decisions and become more involved in the giving process than by simply writing a check to a favorite charity, all while having fun doing it. By donating time and/or money through their giving circle of choice, participants have a more meaningful giving experience.

SEEDLING FUND – Donors from all economic backgrounds can now make a significant and permanent contribution to the charity of their choice by starting a seedling fund. By investing as little as $1,000 and making annual contributions, you can build your tax-deductible contributions into a permanent endowment fund. When the Seedling Fund reaches $10,000, you can begin making grants to support your chosen charity or charities.

Endowment Funds

Any donor who wants to create a fund to provide long-term charitable support can establish an endowment fund. The body of the fund should grow over time even with grantmaking and inflation factored in. Plus, the asset allocation of this type of fund can include fewer liquid assets and earn a premium over publicly traded assets.

How does a donor’s endowment fund grow?

Here’s an example of endowment fund growth and impact is the Eleanor Wallace Caswell Scholarship Fund.  This fund was established by Sara Wallace Knapp in memory of her sister Eleanor Wallace Caswell.  Income from this fund is used to pay tuition for a student enrolled in the LPN Nursing Program the Lorenzo Walker Technical School in Naples.

In 1989, Mrs. Caswell left a bequest of $202,500 to the Community Foundation of Collier County. Since then:

• 20 grants have been issued from 1998 thru 2015, totaling: $254,195
• Balance as of March 2016: $261,989