Types
of Community Foundation Funds
Your gift at The Community Foundation can be administered
in several different ways:
• |
Community Trust
Fund: Your gift to the Community
Trust Fund becomes part of this permanent community
savings account, to be used to meet greatest needs
and emerging opportunities in perpetuity. |
• |
Field of Interest
Fund: You support the field
of interest that appeals to you, without naming
a particular organization. Our staff and grant committees
identify the most important opportunities in your
field of interest to receive grant dollars. Gifts
can be designated to the arts, civic engagement,
education, the environment, health and human services,
gay and lesbian support services, basic needs, or
support for the disabled. |
• |
Donor Advised Endowed Fund:
With a Donor Advised Endowed
Fund, you set up a foundation within The Community
Foundation, a fund that will become a permanent
community resource. You designate who will advise
the Foundation and make recommendations on how the
income from your fund should be distributed. |
• |
Donor Advised Gift Fund:
The Donor Advised Gift Fund
is a dynamic model of charitable giving: donors
establish a fund and have the option of distributing
their entire fund, including the principal. This
option allows donors to make an immediate gift or
complete a gift within a calendar year, and then
focus on their grant making at a later, more convenient
time. |
| • |
Donor Advised Impact
Fund: The Donor
Advised Impact Fund offers a unique alternative
to the first two funds. Like an Endowed Fund the
Impact Fund is invested in The Community Foundation‚s
investment pool allowing the principal to grow over
time. Donors may request that up to 20% of the fund
be granted each year–increasing grant amounts
to organizations the donors wish to immediately
help. |
• |
Designated Fund:
You designate
one or more specific charitable organizations
to benefit from your gift. |
Administrative
and Grant Services for Funds
( top of page )
Our staff is extremely knowledgeable on Boulder County
charitable organizations and strategic grantmaking. We
encourage you to take an active role in grantmaking…philanthropy
can be one of the most rewarding aspects of your life.
We hope that our services will add value to your experience.
Services we provide include:
• |
In-depth work with the your fund’s
advisory committee – including family members,
friends, or other advisors to the fund – to
assure that the intent of the fund is implemented
in all aspects of the grant making. |
• |
Grant
administration, including distribution of requests
for proposals, due diligence of applicants and assurance
of tax-exempt status, check writing and evaluation.
|
• |
Scheduling of site visits to be done
by staff and/or donors. |
• |
Consideration of organizations brought
to our attention by donors and donor advisors. |
• |
Evaluation, monitoring and follow-up
of grants made. |
• |
Writing and distribution of press
releases about new funds, grants made, and other
activities, if the donor wishes. Named funds may
also be mentioned in The Community Foundation’s
publications, such as brochures and annual
reports, if the donor wants such publicity.
Conversely, we are also happy to respect
a donor’s desire for anonymity. |
• |
Technical assistance work to support
non-profits all over the county, including Community
Ventures, our free W.I.N.
(What Interests Nonprofits) lunch series, and
one-on-one assistance to nonprofit groups. |
• |
Regular briefings on emerging and important
community issues, family philanthropy, strategic
grantmaking and other relevant topics (see "Education"
below). |
Education
( top of page )
At times, it can be overwhelming to be a donor. How do
you choose which organizations to fund? How do you say
"no?" How do you talk to your kids about philanthropy?
How should your professional advisor be involved in your
giving? The Community Foundation makes it a priority to
provide educational opportunities for our donors.
Workshops and
Presentations
Each year, The Community Foundation
offers an ongoing series of educational events for our
donors. Topics are chosen based on emerging community
trends and donor interest, so the selections change from
year to year. Here is a sample of programs from recent
months:
• |
"The
New Wealth Paradigm: Integrating Family Values with
Wealth Planning fora Lasting Legacy"
Will your wealth foster independence or dependence?
Is your plan both tax wise and values-based? This
program showcased unique strategies for ensuring
that personal wealth is transferred where you choose
- to family members and charities - and how you
choose, to promote the values and causes important
to you. |
• |
Youth Grantmaking
Lunch
This presentation included a panel of grant makers
who focused on youth issues. They shared what they
are seeing in terms of current needs, trends, and
innovation for strong youth programming. |
• |
"Judges’
Lunch"
a panel discussion featuring several local judges,
many of whom are the first to see emerging trends
and issues based on who passes through their courtrooms. |
• |
A Tour of the
State of the Arts in Boulder County
First stop: Rocky Mountain Center for Musical Arts
for site visit number one, then to the Dairy Center
for a tour and a wine and cheese event with a number
of the Dairy's resident organizations. Topics to
be covered included what is the current state of
the arts in the county, where is funding coming
from - or not coming from, and what creative projects
are people here doing. |
Annual Events
Every year, we stage a series of public events, designed
to foster community and encourage giving. Here is a sample
of this year’s events:
• |
Community
Stars Luncheon: At our annual luncheon,
we name our Millennium
Trust grant recipients, and award our NOVA
Awards to community nonprofits, to recognize
local brilliance and innovation in philanthropy. |
• |
Community
Ventures. This all-day seminar is the foundation’s
annual event to help local nonprofits and their
board members learn to be better fundraisers and
bild stronger organizations. |
Culture
of Giving
The Culture of Giving movement creates a stronger, more
connected community by providing the resources, information
and tools to build upon Boulder County's growing philanthropic
culture. The movement includes an ongoing, philanthropic
marketing campaign by local media and businesses, a corporate
program for philanthropic leadership in the business community,
and the CultureOfGiving.org
website which offers information about nearlt 400
nonprofits in Boulder County.
Library
The Community Foundation has a selection of materials
on giving, philanthropy, education, youth, and social
trends. We encourage you to stop by and check something
out! We also have a selection of materials for purchase.
Site Visits
From time to time, we schedule site visits to Boulder
County nonprofits. Many donors feel that site visits –
a way to have a peek inside nonprofits – is instrumental
in forming opinions about charities and making funding
recommendations.
With notice, we can arrange site visits on behalf of our
donors to the nonprofits of their choosing.
Working
with your Family ( top
of page )
One of the hottest trends in philanthropy today is the
emerging field of family philanthropy -- getting your
family involved in giving. There are many ways The Community
Foundation can help you do this.
First, we recommend that you allow us to help you create
your fund’s mission statement with your family.
This will get all of the members of your family involved,
and it will give you a sense of direction and thoughtfulness
about your philanthropic work.
Second, use our staff to work with your family
to do your grantmaking. We frequently facilitate meetings
with families to help them talk about their values and
make decisions about funding. We can also schedule site
visits with families and children.
If you have high school kids, ask about getting them
involved on a grants committee.
Third, we encourage you to peruse selections from our
reading and web resource
list. This list provides a sample of the wonderful
books that will educate you and your children about
giving and philanthropy. We also have a handful of books
on family philanthropy available to borrow or buy at
The Community Foundation’s office.
Fourth, we encourage you and your family to volunteer.
There are myriad volunteer opportunities in Boulder
County, many of them for children as young as eight
years old. Ask to see our "volunteer opportunities
packet," or call the Volunteer
Connection at 303-444-4904.
Grants
Committees (
top of page )
Would you be interested in helping recommend which nonprofits
will become the Foundation’s grantees? Serving
on a grants committee will give you a different perspective
on philanthropy and giving. You can choose to be on
one of the following committees:
• |
Health and Human Services |
• |
Civic Engagement |
• |
Education |
• |
Arts |
• |
Environment |
• |
Youth |
• |
Gay and Lesbian Support Services |
Committee members read the proposals, then
meet with other members and foundation staff, conduct
site visits and interviews, and ultimately recommend
who will be funded for a particular year. Serving on
a grants committee is a great way to learn more about
Boulder County nonprofits, and it will teach you how
to decide which organizations to fund.
Investment
Management, Accounting and Tax Reporting for Funds
( top of page )
The Foundation provides
the following services for funds:
• |
Tax reporting, audit, and
information services. |
• |
Management
and investment of the portfolio, including quarterly
investment reports sent to donor advisors. |
• |
If your fund totals over $250,000,
you may recommend your own investment professional
to provide investment services. |
• |
The option to have a portion of your
fund (totaling $250,000 or more) invested in a socially
responsible way. |
• |
Accounting for grants made and other
fund expenses. |
• |
Oversight of our Investment
Committee. |
• |
All these financial services, as well
as administrative services, are provided for an
annual fee of 1.25 % of the fund balance plus investment
advisor charges of less than 40 basis points ( <
0.4%), deducted directly from the fund. A complete
list of fees is available. |
Pooling Assets
The Community Foundation will pool your fund’s
assets with our other investments for the most advantageous
investments. All accounting, however, is done for your
fund on an individual fund basis and statements are
provided quarterly.
Next
Steps ( top of page
)
The list above is a selection of ways we can help you
get your philanthropy off the ground. We strongly encourage
you to get involved in our community. Boulder County
is a wonderful place to live, but it isn’t always
apparent how to make a difference. The Community Foundation
provides you and your family with resources. Please
contact any of the following people, the
staff of The Community Foundation, to get involved
in philanthropy today.
Josie
Heath
President
303-442-0436, ext. 108
|
Gretchen Minekime
Director of Advancement
303-442-0436, ext. 107
|
Debbie Gaffney
Chief Financial Officer
303-442-0436, ext. 109
|
Carly Hare
Programs Director
303-442-0436, ext. 111
|
Bruce Skelton
Database and Operations Manager
303-442-0436, ext. 112
|
Suzanne Barnes
Spruce Street Mansion and Community
Foundation Office Administrator
303-442-0436 ext. 100
|
Morgan Rogers
Boulder County Civic Forum Director
303-442-0436 ext. 115
|
Leah Sullivan
Grants Administrator
303-442-0436 ext. 130
|
Colleen Conant
Donor Advocate
303-442-0436 ext. 118
|
|
