Creating A Fund
Make us your charitable giving partner. Establishing a fund is a great way to make a difference in the community now, and when future residents will be thankful for your generosity.
Which Fund is Best for Me?
Please select who you are to see which funds may work best for you
Designated Fund
Designated funds allow donors to provide their favorite nonprofit organizations with annual support now and forever.
Minimum Initial Gift: $10,000
Minimum Fund Balance: N/A
Designated funds provide donors with a convenient way to provide your favorite nonprofit organizations with continual income now and forever.
Fundholders work with our team to set up a designated fund with a name and investment strategy of their choosing and receive an immediate tax deduction for gifts they make to the fund.
Grants are automatically sent by the Community Foundation each year as long as the designated organization remains an eligible beneficiary. If the designated beneficiary ceases to exist, our team can identify similar organizations that closely align with the donor’s original intent to be the recipient of the funding.
Benefits
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Offers fundholders a convenient way to provide ongoing support to their favorite nonprofits.
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Provides predictable income to nonprofit organizations now and forever.
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Fundholders can select an investment strategy that maximizes their impact, including access to the Community Foundation’s long-term pool with a history of proven growth.
Discretionary Fund
Discretionary funds are ideal for donors who recognize that the needs of our community are constantly evolving and want to ensure that future community needs can always be addressed through their generosity.
Minimum Initial Gift: $10,000
Minimum Fund Balance: N/A
Discretionary funds allow donors to keep pace with evolving community needs in relevant ways through grantmaking and initiative work, ensuring their contributions have the greatest impact throughout the community.
Fundholders work with our team to set up a discretionary fund with a name and investment strategy of their choosing and receive an immediate tax deduction for gifts they make to the fund.
The Community Foundation uses its knowledge and expertise to award funding to deserving recipients in the fund’s name, helping to drive meaningful change.
Discretionary funds are ideal for individuals, couples, and families who are comfortable with entrusting decision-making to the Community Foundation and want to have the greatest impact on their community for generations to come.
Benefits
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Helps establish a permanent legacy, enriching the lives of future generations.
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Funding decisions benefit from the Community Foundation’s knowledge and expertise of the community and its evolving needs.
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Fundholders can select an investment strategy that maximizes their impact, including access to the Community Foundation’s long-term pool with a history of proven growth.
Donor-Advised Fund — Committee
Committee donor-advised funds are created especially for groups of individuals who want to collectively recommend grants to their favorite nonprofit organizations over a set period of time.
Minimum Initial Gift: $10,000
Minimum Fund Balance: $10,000 (for investment and legacy provisions)
Committee donor-advised funds are a great way for groups of individuals to be able to distribute charitable dollars over a set period of time and with maximum impact. Advisory committee members work with our team to set up a donor-advised fund with a name and investment strategy of their choosing, offering a convenient way to collect gifts that support the committee’s charitable mission.
Advisory committee members make grant recommendations to support organizations and causes that reflect their mission and interests. Grants can be made anonymously if desired and advisory committee members have access to Community Foundation staff who provide expertise and insight on potential grant recipients.
The advisory committee works with Community Foundation staff at the time the fund is created to establish committee roles and responsibilities, appointment and reappointment parameters, and a time frame for how long they wish the fund to exist.
Benefits
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Offers like-minded individuals the framework to create a custom philanthropic structure to meet their collective needs.
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Provides donors with convenient ways to make gifts in support of the committee’s mission.
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Advisory committee can select an investment strategy that maximizes their impact, including access to the Community Foundation’s long-term pool with a history of proven growth.
Donor-Advised Fund — Corporate
Corporate donor-advised funds offer companies the opportunity to recommend grants to their favorite nonprofit organizations and involve employees in supporting their community.
Minimum Initial Gift: $10,000
Minimum Fund Balance: $10,000 (for investment and legacy provisions)
Corporate donor-advised funds are a great way for companies to be able to distribute charitable dollars with maximum impact. Business representatives work with our team to set up a donor-advised fund with a name and investment strategy of their choosing, offering a convenient way to collect gifts that support the business’s charitable mission.
Company representatives make grant recommendations to support organizations and causes that reflect their mission and interests. Grants can be made anonymously if desired and representatives have access to Community Foundation staff who provide expertise and insight on potential grant recipients.
Business representatives work with Community Foundation staff at the time the fund is created to establish a customized structure for gift intake and grant recommendation that works best for their organization.
Benefits
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Offers companies the opportunity to support their local community.
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Provides businesses with convenient ways to make gifts in support of their organization’s mission.
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Offers organizations a framework for establishing an employee giving program.
Donor-Advised Fund — Private Foundation
Private foundation donor-advised funds are created especially as an alternative to individuals looking to establish a private or family foundation or those interested in converting an existing private or family foundation.
Minimum Initial Gift: $10,000
Minimum Fund Balance: $10,000 (for investment and legacy provisions)
Private foundation donor-advised funds are a great alternative to establishing or managing a private or family foundation as they offer a simple, flexible and affordable structure for managing and distributing charitable assets.
Foundation representatives work with our team to set up a donor-advised fund with a name and investment strategy of their choosing, offering a convenient way to collect gifts that support the committee’s charitable mission.
Representatives make grant recommendations to support organizations and causes that reflect their mission and interests. Grants can be made anonymously if desired and representatives have access to Community Foundation staff who provide expertise and insight on potential grant recipients.
This fund is ideal for those who wish to create a legacy of philanthropy as it allows for children, grandchildren, or other loved ones to be involved in grantmaking or named as successor advisors as long as the fund balance exceeds a specified amount.
Benefits
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Offers a simple, flexible, and affordable alternative to establishing or managing a private or family foundation.
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Eliminates burdensome reporting and operational requirements.
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Foundation representatives can select an investment strategy that maximizes their impact, including access to the Community Foundation’s long-term pool with a history of proven growth.
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Donor-Advised Fund |
Private Foundation |
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Steps to Organize |
A fund agreement is entered into between The Community Foundation and the donor to document the donor's intent at no cost to the donor |
Must form a new legal entity and apply for IRS exempt status requiring the donor to incur legal and accounting fees |
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Grantmaking Decisions |
Donor recommends recipients but Community Foundation has final authority |
Fully controlled by private foundation |
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Community Expertise |
The Community Foundation works closely with community nonprofit organizations and can identify needs and opportunities consistent with donor's areas of interest |
Private foundation must rely on its own volunteers, paid consultants or staff to develop expertise on areas of need. |
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Annual Distribution Requirements |
No mandatory distributions |
Annual 5% minimum distribution requirement |
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Ongoing Reporting Requirements |
Donor-advised funds have no ongoing reporting requirements for donors as they are included in the Community Foundation's annual IRS Form 990. |
Annual 990 Private Foundation requirements with IRS. Must also file biennial report and pay small fee with New York Attorney General. |
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Privacy |
Grants can be made anonymously or recogized through a named fund |
Annual IRS tax reports are public records |
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Ongoing and Family Involvement |
Donor can designate successor advisors |
Private foundation board can continue family involvement indefinitely |
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Legacy |
Fund can continue as per donor's instructions if successor advisors are unable to continue making grant recommendations. |
If family members all die or lose interest, reasons for family foundation may cease to exist. May become difficult to reach consensus about distribution. Expenses to dissolve the entity. |
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Tax Deduction Limits for Cash Gifts |
60% of adjusted gross income (AGI) |
30% of adjusted gross income (AGI) |
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Tax Deduction Limits for Publicly Traded Securities |
30% of adjusted gross income (AGI) |
20% of adjusted gross income (AGI) |
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Tax Deduction Limits for Real Estate and Other Assets |
30% of adjusted gross income (AGI), deductible at fair market value |
20% of adjusted gross income (AGI), deductible limited to the lower of cost basis or fair market value |
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Tax on Investment Income |
None |
Up to 2% excise tax on net investment income |
Donor-Advised Fund — Traditional
Traditional donor-advised funds are ideal for individuals, couples, or families who want to be actively involved in recommending grants to their favorite nonprofit organizations.
Minimum Initial Gift: $10,000
Minimum Fund Balance: $10,000 (for investment and legacy provisions)
Traditional donor-advised funds are a great tool for donors to be able to distribute charitable dollars over time and with maximum impact. Fundholders work with our team to set up a donor-advised fund with a name and investment strategy of their choosing and receive an immediate tax deduction for gifts they make to the fund.
Advisors make grant recommendations to support organizations and causes that reflect their passions and interests. Grants can be made anonymously if desired and fundholders have access to Community Foundation staff who provide expertise and insight on potential grant recipients.
This fund is ideal for individuals, couples, or families who wish to create a legacy of philanthropy as it allows for children, grandchildren, or other loved ones to be involved in grantmaking or named as successor advisors.
Benefits
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Offers fundholders flexibility to support causes and charities of their choosing without having to write individual checks.
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Simplifies donor tax documentation because all tax acknowledgments come from the Community Foundation instead of several individual organizations.
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Fundholders can select an investment strategy that maximizes their impact, including access to the Community Foundation’s long-term pool with a history of proven growth.
Field-of-Interest Fund
Field-of-interest funds enable donors to support a particular area of interest, such as education or the environment, while entrusting the Community Foundation with the responsibility to select the most fitting recipient of this funding.
Minimum Initial Gift: $10,000
Minimum Fund Balance: N/A
Field-of-interest funds allow donors to keep pace with evolving community needs in their fields of interest, ensuring the greatest impact in these areas are met now and forever.
Fundholders work with our team to set up a field-of-interest fund with a name and investment strategy of their choosing and receive an immediate tax deduction for gifts they make to the fund.
Fundholders select areas of interest, such as education, the environment or a specific geographic region. The Community Foundation awards funding to deserving recipients in the fund’s name that are in line with the donor’s charitable intent.
Field-of-interest funds are ideal for individuals, couples, and families who are comfortable with entrusting decision-making to the Community Foundation and want to have the greatest impact on their community for generations to come.
Benefits
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Offers fundholders flexibility to choose areas of interest that are important to them.
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Funding decisions benefit from the Community Foundation’s knowledge and expertise of the community and its evolving needs.
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Fundholders can select an investment strategy that maximizes their impact, including access to the Community Foundation’s long-term pool with a history of proven growth.
Fiscal Sponsorship Fund
Fiscal sponsorships are temporary partnerships in which a 501(c)(3), like the Community Foundation, sponsors a project or organization that does not yet have a tax-exempt status.
Minimum Initial Gift: $1,000
Minimum Fund Balance: $1,000
The Community Foundation can fiscally sponsor organizations that do not have a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status, which allows the entity to seek grants and solicit tax-deductible contributions by using the Community Foundation’s status.
As the fiscal sponsor, the Community Foundation accepts and administers funds on behalf of the sponsored organization, and is legally responsible for ensuring the funds are used for charitable purposes.
Fiscal sponsorship funds cannot be invested but gift principal is guaranteed ensuring every dollar donated is reinvested into the community.
Fiscal sponsorship requests are considered by the Community Foundation on a case-by-case basis.
Benefits
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Helps make important community projects possible.
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Eliminates the administrative burden of running a fundraising campaign.
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Projects benefit from the credibility of a partnership with the Community Foundation.
Future Fund
Future funds are established through a bequest from a donor’s estate or a future gift instrument, allowing the individual's legacy to live on and be fulfilled for generations to come.
Minimum Initial Gift: N/A
Minimum Fund Balance: N/A
Many donors choose to leave a bequest to the Community Foundation in their will, an everlasting act of generosity that ensures a donor’s charitable wishes will forever be fulfilled.
Future funds can be established with a statement of intent that outlines the donor’s exact wishes. Donors can also choose to name the Community Foundation as the single beneficiary for bequests to other designated charitable organizations and we can coordinate these one-time disbursements to eligible beneficiaries on your behalf.
Benefits
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Flexibility to create a legacy that reflects donors’ passions and interests.
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Confidence that donors’ gift will enrich the lives of future generations.
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Funding decisions benefit from the Community Foundation’s knowledge and expertise of the community and its evolving needs.
Nonprofit Agency Fund
Nonprofit agency funds provide local charitable organizations with investment and gift administration services that more fully leverage resources in order to help nonprofits achieve their mission.
Minimum Initial Gift: $500
Minimum Fund Balance: $500 minimum balance, $25,000 minimum for investment
Nonprofit agency funds provide agencies with investment and gift administration services that are managed by subject matter experts at the Community Foundation.
Fundholders have access to the Community Foundation’s investment pools, allowing funds to benefit from a diverse portfolio with affordable fees. Fundholders also receive gift administration services, including assistance with large, complex, and planned gifts.
Agencies can access their fund’s balance at any time, with distributions made directly to the organization.
The Community Foundation eliminates many of the investment management and administrative burdens nonprofits face allowing agencies to focus instead on serving the community and fulfilling their mission.
Unlike individual brokerage accounts held with institutional investors where all of the assets belong to the fundholder, agency funds are part of an investment pool in which the system does not break down investment results allocated to each fund by interest, dividends, realized/unrealized. Within a pooled fund structure, pooled returns represent the net return calculated on the aggregate investment return as reported by all of the individual investment fund managers held in the pool. Each fund receives an allocation of the pooled returns based on the fund’s average daily balance.
Benefits
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Provides nonprofits with expertise to receive complex gifts.
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Eliminates the administrative burden of investment management and gift administration.
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Fundholders can select an investment strategy that maximizes their impact, including access to the Community Foundation’s long-term pool with a history of proven growth.
Project Fund
Project funds can be established by individuals or entities to receive contributions for a specific, short-term purpose with distributions to a pre-selected organization who is facilitating the project.
Minimum Initial Gift: $500
Minimum Fund Balance: N/A
Project funds help make local charitable projects possible by offering individuals and entities a platform to raise funds for a specific purpose with a limited timeframe. Distributions are then made to a pre-selected sponsoring organization who is responsible for implementing the project.
Individuals and/or entities can work with our team to set up a project fund with a name of their choosing. Donations to the fund are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law, with receipting, reporting, and payment handled by the Community Foundation.
Project funds cannot be invested but gift principal is guaranteed ensuring every dollar donated is reinvested into the community.
Benefits
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Helps make important community projects possible.
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Eliminates the administrative burden of running a fundraising campaign.
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Projects benefit from the credibility of a partnership with the Community Foundation.
Scholarship Fund
Scholarship funds allow donors to create a brighter future for students pursuing continuing education.
Minimum Initial Gift: $25,000
Minimum Fund Balance: N/A
Scholarship funds provide donors with the opportunity to shape students’ lives and prepare tomorrow’s next generation of leaders. Fundholders work with our team to set up a scholarship fund with a name and investment strategy of their choosing and receive an immediate tax deduction for gifts they make to the fund.
Fundholders select criteria and selection guidelines that allow us to identify deserving candidates. Community Foundation staff work with local schools and Utica Dollars for Scholars to administer and award scholarships.
Scholarship funds are a great way to honor or memorialize loved ones, ensuring that their spirit and passions live on through students that share in their talents and interests.
Benefits
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Offers fundholders confidence that deserving candidates are being identified and selected.
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Provides donors with convenient ways to make gifts in support of the scholarship fund’s continued growth.
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Fundholders can select an investment strategy that maximizes their impact, including access to the Community Foundation’s long-term pool with a history of proven growth.
Fund Growth Calculator
To see how the value and impact of charitable funds grows over time, enter a gift amount in the box below. The results table below will display the fund’s projected value and cumulative grants at 5-year intervals.
Schedule A Consultation
Together, we can determine what charitable giving options would fulfill your goals and better our community.