| A Variety of Funds For a Variety of Donors
Donor Advised Funds: A Donor Advised Fund works like a hassle-free private foundation. Grants are made from your fund, based on your advice, to organizations you identify. You get to focus on the charitable giving, while we handle the administration. Such funds can be advised through your lifetime, and by a future generation, if you would like. The Donor Advised Fund is a particularly good option if you are considering the creation of your own private or family foundation, but want to avoid the costs, legal liabilities, excise taxes, IRS and administrative demands that running a private foundation requires. The power and flexibility are still yours – the overhead and administrative demands are ours.
Corporate Advised Funds: With a Corporate Advised Fund at Richland County Foundation, your company will receive many of the benefits of a private foundation, without all the hassles, taxes, and legal fees. By taking advantage of the Foundation's technical assistance and grantmaking services, your business can increase the effectiveness of its corporate philanthropy. You get to focus on the charitable giving, we'll handle all of the administrative work. We’ll even field and sort the many requests for contributions if you’d like.
Unrestricted Funds: The unrestricted funds which donors have established at the Richland County Foundation are the most flexible of all contributions. It is the income from these funds, which the board of trustees can use to respond to community grant requests. When donors have established funds or made contributions to the foundation without any restrictions as to their use, they have entrusted the trustees with the ability to respond to the ever-changing needs of our community.
Designated Funds: Designated funds are established by donors to support specific nonprofit organizations, usually with annual income. The organization may use these grants however it sees fit, often for annual operating expenses.
Agency Endowment Funds: The Richland County Foundation has the unique ability to hold assets for a charitable organization in a named endowment fund, and annually distribute earned investment income back to the not-for-profit organization, to meet its needs as they determine.
Field of Interest Funds: Field of interest funds have been established by donors to support special areas of community need, such as crippled children or the elderly. Following the donors' directions, the board of trustees is responsible for approving grants to the nonprofit organizations that provide programs in the
appropriate field.
Project Funds: Project funds are established so that the foundation can partner with an organization for a short-term charitable project. Usually the fund is depleted as the project is completed.
Scholarship Funds: Scholarship funds of the Richland County Foundation have been established by donors with specific restrictions for eligibility (such as course of study or high school from which the student is graduating) in addition to foundation guidelines.
Pooled Income Funds: When donors establish Pooled Income Funds, the assets are held by Bank One, pooled with donations from other donors, and the income from this investment pool is provided to the donor(s) for their lifetime. At the end of this period, the assets are given to the Richland County Foundation and a fund in the donors' name is established that follows the direction as requested by the donor at the time the contribution was originally made.
Existing Foundation Funds that Support Annual
Grant Programs
Connections Fund: Connections is a vibrant group of young professionals and leaders in our community who have drawn together to create an understanding of the needs of nonprofit and to facilitate connections between young professionals, our community and it's current leaders. The advisory committee has formed a permanent endowment created by pooled membership dues and contributions. Our goal is to foster charitable giving and community involvement through educational forums and social events. To find out more visit the Connections web site www.connectionsfund.org.
Individual Assistance Fund: Grants are awarded to nonprofit agencies which operate programs that assist the needy. Grant dollars may be used for emergency assistance, basic human needs, and sustaining basic health.
Summertime Kids Fund: The Summetime Kids Program awarded grants to nonprofit agencies for fun-filled programs that are eductional and creative. The programs benefit hundreds of Richland County children and youth who do not have other opportunities to enjoy summertime activities.
Teacher Assistance Program Fund (TAP): TAP is a mini-grant program (grants up to $1,000) for area schools that encourages teachers to develop creative and itneresting new programs, projects, or events for their classrooms.
The Women's Fund: The Women's Fund was established in 1996 to promote philanthropy among women and to establish a permanent endowment which will provide funding to programs and projects in the Richland County area which empower women to achieve their full potential. Earnings from the fund will provide assistance to programs which promote the physical, intellectual, emotional, social, economic, and cultural growth of women of all ages.
For more information on these (or other) fund types, please contact Pam Siegenthaler by e-mail or by phone, 419.525.3020.
Interested in learning more? Read on... HOW TO ESTABLISH A FUND |
