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Establish a Fund
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.
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.
