Building a Permanent Endowment for Delaware County…Now and Forever
Allow us to be your partner in giving by setting up a donor fund.
One of our strengths as a community foundation is the rich array of giving opportunities we can offer to our donors, allowing them to support causes they care about in ways they never realized were possible. If you would like to start a fund, our professionals can help you decide how to have the most enduring impact in a manner that is most convenient and advantageous for you.
“We appreciate the flexibility of investing in a donor-advised fund at our community foundation. The staff really work with us – taking the time to listen to what our family cares about, providing background information on the organizations working in those areas, on those issues.”
($10,000 minimum) You can help us address urgent issues throughout Delaware County. Unrestricted funds generate income the foundation can use to support evidence-based, proven programs. They provide the flexibility to meet urgent needs now. And they enable us to respond to emerging challenges and opportunities as they arise.
($10,000 minimum) Donor-advised funds are the most flexible vehicle for your philanthropic goals. They allow you to take an active part in grantmaking. You can make recommendations about grants to any qualified nonprofits in Delaware County or throughout the US.
In addition, the foundation will partner with you to focus on the causes and projects you care about. If your interests change over time, your grantmaking can, too. The foundation staff has expertise on the community’s needs and the nonprofits that serve the county. You can also involve your children and other members of your family – now and in the future.
($50,000 minimum) These funds enable you to provide opportunities for students or advance professional education for adults in our community. Through your fund, you can set the criteria to select students. Also, you or another representative of your fund can take part in the foundation’s application review and selection process. If the commitment to set up your own scholarship fund is too large, you may wish to consider establishing a designated fund that would support scholarships at a specific educational institution, or a field of interest fund that could support educational programs in a specific area of interest, such as the arts or business administration, etc. This would allow the foundation to support scholarship programs at any accredited institution of higher education that support students in a specific field of study.
Learn more about establishing a Scholarship Fund
($10,000 minimum) Field of interest funds are an excellent way to address your commitment to an issue, a locale, or a population. At the same time, you can rely on the foundation’s knowledge of needs and which nonprofits are most effective. Also, these funds allow the foundation the flexibility to address needs as they change over time. The foundation staff will make annual recommendations on high quality nonprofits working in your focus area. And they will make grants according to the priorities you’ve set for your fund.
($10,000 minimum) This type of fund enables you to leave a permanent legacy at the foundation that will continue to benefit our community. Through a designated fund, you can provide ongoing support to one or more nonprofits. If any of these nonprofits change their charitable purpose or cease to operate, the foundation will direct the income of your fund to another organization/s whose purpose is as close as possible to that of your original designation.
($10,000 minimum) Endowment funds provide nonprofits with a lasting, reliable source of support. These funds are simple to set up and our staff can consult with organizations interested in using this vehicle to build their endowment and enhance their long-term sustainability.
You can establish any of these funds with a gift of $1,000 or more. Then you can add to the fund over an agreed-upon period of time. As you build the fund, both additional donations and earned income from investments accrue until the fund reaches the minimum balance. At that point the fund will become active.
Different types of funds have administrative fees. For more information about these fees – and any other questions about setting up a fund, contact our VP for Advancement and Philanthropic Services, Monika Collins.
The Foundation for Delaware County’s gift acceptance policy and other fund policies are available upon request.
Donors have different goals, values and areas of interest. We can be your partners in philanthropy planning. This resource may be helpful in your planning process. We encourage you to use these ideas to adapt and shape what best fits you and your family.
Read our FAQ.
We can work with you to select the fund that best fits your philanthropic goals. Also, we can assist you in determining which assets you would like to use to support your fund, including cash, life insurance, retirement assets, stocks, real estate and other tangible assets.
Let us be your guide to establishing a giving strategy that can have the most meaningful impact on the residents of Delaware County. Here is an example of how we helped others put their philanthropic goals to work.
