Starting a Fund
The gift planning staff at the Community Foundation can help you assist your client at every stage of developing and implementing a philanthropic plan. Some important issues for you to consider with your client include:

1. What are their goals? Often a conversation with a client about business, personal or financial decisions sparks an interest in a charitable plan. What charity or area of interest does your client wish to benefit? What specific tax or family issues are they seeking to resolve? Foundation staff members can join you in these conversations if you choose. We can provide customized solutions for your client’s unique needs.
   
   
2. When should they give? Based on their needs, we can help you decide if it is more appropriate for your client to establish a fund immediately, through their will, or through other planned giving strategies.
   
   
3. What should they give? We can talk with you about the different kinds of assets your client can use to open a fund. While most people open a fund with cash or stock, we also accept gifts of real estate, an interest in a family business, artwork or other property. Questions about donating an unusual asset, or selecting the best asset or timing for the gift? Contact us.
   
   
4. How should they give? We offer a variety of funds that enable your clients to start giving immediately, involve their family for generations, or select giving strategies that will make gifts to their fund later, leaving a lasting legacy. Some clients have several different funds, although it’s usually simple to create one fund that will fulfill all of your client’s charitable objectives.
   
   
5. What do they want to support?  Your client decides what they want to support—with or without assistance from our staff. However, if your client has any questions about certain areas of interest, or specific charitable organizations, we can assist them with information and resources to help them insure that their grants have maximum impact. The Foundation takes care of all administrative details. Your client simply has the joy of putting their charitable dollars to work. And there are no geographic limitations on grants from their fund.
   

When your client decides to open a fund at the Community Foundation, follow these simple steps:

1. Contact the gift planning staff at the Foundation. The professional staff at the Foundation will walk you through all the details necessary to create a fund agreement that will govern the use of the gift. We draft the agreement for your review. We can work with you behind the scenes, or meet with you and your client to obtain the needed information.
   
   
2. Have your client sign the fund agreement.
   
   
3. Return the fund agreement to the Foundation.
   
   
4. Transfer the gift.
   

That’s all there is to it. We’re there to help you every step of the way. It takes just a few days for most funds to be created. The best arrangements happen when you, your client, and the professional staff at the Community Foundation work together to create a charitable fund that captures all of your clients’ objectives and provides maximum tax benefits.

Working with Us: To find out more about the many ways that the Community Foundation staff can work with you to fulfill your client’s charitable goals, email us.