“If people have an interest in philanthropic giving, I encourage them to create a fund with the community foundation as the Community Foundation will continue your philanthropic intent into the future.” –Donor

Establish a Fund

NCCF provides a local vehicle for donors who wish to establish charitable funds. We offer a simple way for you to make charitable giving an important part of your life, and for you to make a lasting difference in our community and in other communities you care about.

Establishing a charitable fund with The New Canaan Community Foundation enables you to be sure that your charitable dollars have the greatest impact, are directed towards the greatest need, and make the greatest difference. If desired, the Community Foundation can help you create a family tradition of philanthropy involving your family members and can assist you in leaving a philanthropic legacy. NCCF offers a variety of fund options for you to achieve your philanthropic goals and to help improve community life.

Individuals, families, businesses, and organizations may create permanent charitable funds that help our area meet the challenges of changing times. NCCF invests and administers these funds. NCCF serves as a steward to safeguard the funds entrusted to us.

It is easy to establish a fund with NCCF. A donor can give cash, appreciated securities and other assets to begin a fund. NCCF handles all the administrative details of a donor's grant making fund. Donors may name their fund and may choose successor advisors who will recommend grants after the donor's lifetime.

Any of these funds can be established in your name, or in the name of your family, your organization, or anyone you wish to honor. All grants distributed from the fund you establish are awarded to charities in the name of your fund. It is a great way to be involved with and remembered for, your community investment.

Creating a fund at the Foundation is a wonderful way for an individual to give back to the community in a meaningful way.

How it works

You make a gift to NCCF—you can give cash or appreciated stocks. For gifts of other assets, we ask that you contact the office. There is a simple form to fill out that will guide your fund's operation. A $10,000 minimum is required to establish a grant making fund. NCCF also offers the option to build your fund over time with the Acorn Fund.
A fund is set up in your name or in any name you choose and a legal agreement is created between you and NCCF
You receive tax deduction benefits in the year your gift is made. You can continue to add to your fund as you wish. Because we are a community foundation and a public charity, you will receive the maximum tax benefits permitted by law. You can deduct gifts of cash at 50% of your adjusted gross income, and gifts of appreciated property at 30% of your adjusted gross income. If you are not able to take the entire deduction in the year of your gift, you have a five-year carry forward, which will allow you to maximize your income tax deduction over time.
Your gift is prudently invested, comingled with other Foundation funds.
At your recommendation, grants addressing community needs and other needs that are important to you are made from your fund. You may recommend grants from your donor advised fund to any non-profit organization serving New Canaan or to any qualified non-profit 501 (c) (3) organization of your choice in the United States.
If you would like suggestions for grant opportunities, the NCCF professional staff and Board are available to offer guidance in this process.
All distribution recommendations are presented to the NCCF Board for approval.
NCCF handles all the administrative details and distributes grants to charities in the name of your fund or anonymously if you prefer.
You will receive quarterly reports on your funds progress and activities.
You can name advisors to the fund in addition to yourself, enabling you to transfer the fund to a second generation.
Your fund is an important source of community capital, helping to do good work forever.

Ease of Administration
By handling all the tax reporting, audits and necessary paperwork, The New Canaan Community Foundation gives donors the opportunity to focus on the true joys of philanthropy.

Creating a Legacy
Named funds at NCCF exist in perpetuity, creating a lasting legacy for donors and their families. These funds are a wonderful means to give back to the community, in a way that is significant and permanent.

Making a Grant from Your Charitable Fund
In keeping with its goal of building a permanent community endowment, the Foundation retains the principal of all contributed endowed funds, each year only distributing a percentage of each fund's value. This current percentage is 4.5% of the previous year's value. However, funds that have a value of over $50,000 may request the use of principal for their charitable distributions, until the fund's balance falls below $50,000.

If the donor establishes a non-endowed Donor Advised Gift, then the principal is available for grant distributions over a pre-determined period of time.

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Charitable Funds Options at NCCF

Each of the types of funds listed below can be endowed or non-endowed, as defined below:

ENDOWED FUNDS
When you create a charitable fund through your community foundation, you have the opportunity to benefit the community forever with a permanent endowment. Your gift is invested over time and a percentage of your fund's value is used annually to make grants addressing community needs and your philanthropic interests. Your fund is a permanent source of community capital, helping do good work today and in the future.

NON ENDOWED FUND
A donor may choose to create a fund that is non-endowed, and over a period of time the entire gift is distributed as grants directed to needs within our community and beyond.

FUND TYPES

DONOR ADVISED FUNDS
The Donor Advised Fund is the most popular charitable vehicle offered by Community Foundations. A donor can establish a fund with a $10,000 minimum contribution and then the donor and the fund advisors actively participate in grant-making by recommending grant recipients. The donor may name successor advisors, such as his or her children, giving them the opportunity to carry on the family's tradition of philanthropy. A Donor Advised Fund enables you and your family to support the causes and concerns that are most meaningful to you. The NCCF Board and staff are available to offer assistance in connecting donors with a variety of charitable organizations. The Donor's original gift and those that are added to their fund later are available to do good work forever in our community and beyond.

Establishing a family Donor Advised Fund at the New Canaan Community Foundation enables your family to be actively involved in making grants from your fund while minimizing the administrative burden. Involving your children in philanthropy is a rewarding experience and an important part of preparing them for their future.

UNRESTRICTED FUNDS
Your gift to establish an Unrestricted Fund becomes a permanent resource to address ever-changing community needs, including future needs that can not be anticipated at the time of your gift. The flexibility of your gift allows the NCCF Board of Directors to respond to the community's most pressing needs today and tomorrow.

FIELD OF INTEREST FUNDS
You can target your gift to focus on a particular interest in a specific area of community life without needing to name the charity to receive the grants. The NCCF Board of Directors will award grants to community organizations and programs that are most effectively serving the area or interest that you selected.

DESIGNATED FUNDS
These funds enable to you to direct your gift to a specific non profit organization or purpose. Designated funds help donors to support one or more organizations that are meaningful to them and ensure that their charitable goals continue to be met forever.

ACORN FUNDS
The Acorn Fund option is for donors who would like to begin to create a personal philanthropic legacy but who choose not to set aside the $10,000 minimum required to establish a fund at one time. Regular contributions are made to one's Acorn Fund and when the fund reaches the $10,000 level, it becomes a grant making fund within the Foundation. An Acorn Fund can become an Unrestricted Fund, Donor Advised Fund, Designated Fund, or Field of Interest Fund at that point.

SCHOLARSHIP FUNDS
Scholarship funds are a vital resource that can enable students of all ages to realize their educational dreams, or benefit the schools and universities of the donor's choice. It is a way to help others pursue their education – according to criteria of the donor's choice. Scholarships can support students who are graduating from a particular school, attending a particular school, studying a specific subject or pursuing their education on any level. You can choose to allow the Foundation's professional staff and committed, volunteer boards to determine where your Scholarship Funds are most needed or you can participate as part of a selection advisory committee. In accordance with Internal Revenue Service regulations, no donor, member of the selection committee or anyone related to the scholarship fund's advisors, can receive any material benefit from any grant distributed from the fund.

AGENCY ENDOWMENT FUNDS
An endowed fund to benefit a particular organization may be established by an individual or the organization itself. The main purpose of an agency endowment is to provide a long-term and growing source of financial support for an organization. For more information about this option, please click here.

Fees

The New Canaan Community Foundation charges an administrative fee (in addition to that charged by our investment manager) to offset costs incurred in operating the administrative expenses associated with fund operations. The current fee structure is as follows:

Minimum Annual Fee	$250.00
Annual Fee for Donor Advised Funds, Designated Funds and Field of Interest Funds with assets:
$ 10,000 to $500,000	1.0%
$500,001 to $1,000,000	.75%
Above $1,000,000	.50%
Annual Fee for Agency Endowments	1%
Annual Fee for Scholarship Funds	1.5%

Other options include:

PASS THROUGH GRANTS
A donor can make a contribution to the Community Foundation as an individual or from their private foundation with the intention of having the Foundation make a grant to a non-profit organization. These arrangements are discussed with Foundation staff in advance and approved by the Board of Directors.