The Branch County Community Foundation has developed several types of funds to meet donor and community needs. Our staff works with you and your advisor to help you determine which type is right for you.

Many donors place no restrictions on how their gifts are to be used. However, you may design your fund around very specific goals. Even if the current intent of the fund becomes obsolete, the Community Foundation will ensure that the fund continues to address emerging community needs. For more information on the unique structural feature that makes this flexibility possible, click on the link below to learn about the Variance Power that is a part of each of our fund agreements.

Any fund can be permanent (endowed), long-term (allowing spending from principal when appropriate), or temporary (allowing funds to be completely spent for grants within a specified time).

Establishing a Fund
It's easy to establish your own named charitable fund and it can be done in less than a day. Working with a member of our staff, and your financial advisor if you choose, you will take these simple steps:

1. Determine the charitable purpose of the fund.

2. Select the type of fund that best supports your purpose. Our staff will assist you in determining which type of fund will help you reach your charitable giving goals.

3. Complete a fund agreement---the governing document for the fund. We will assist you (and your advisor) in clarifying your intentions for now and the future.

4. Select a name for your fund. You can use your name, family name, or the name of a loved one. If that is your wish, you can remain anonymous by selecting a name of the cause or organization the fund supports.

5. Depending on the type of fund you establish, you may designate current fund advisors, and successor advisors. That information is included in your governing document.

6. Make an establishing gift.

7. Receive a tax deduction at the time the fund is established and each time qualifying contributions are made to the fund.

• Unrestricted
  The most flexible funds within the Foundation, unrestricted funds are those for which the donor allows the Foundation discretion in the use of the annual income for a broad range of community projects. This provides the Community Foundation the opportunity to respond to changing community needs.
  
  
• Field-of-Interest
  With field-of-interest funds, the donor directs the Community Foundation to utilize the annual income in a certain program area. The Community Foundation determines the specific grant recipients. Educational scholarships may be awarded from field-of-interest funds.
  
  An educational field of interest fund can be used for scholarships, but can also be used for other types of educational support. When deciding what type of fund to create, consider what $500 can do for one college student. And then consider what $500 could do for a 5th grade science class of 25 students.
  
  
• Donor Advised
  Donor advised funds allow the donor to actively participate in the grantmaking process by recommending to the Community Foundation the purpose and organizations that receive the annual income. Recommendations are referred to the Community Foundation's Board of Directors for approval. Many advised funds become unrestricted on the death of the donor or at the end of a specified period.
  
  Temporary donor advised funds work just like an endowed fund with the exception that the minimum establishing gift is $1,000. Use this option for end-of-year giving to multiple charities. You can write a single check or give stock to your community foundation, get one gift acknowledgment for tax purposes, and still make gifts to several charities.
  
  
• Designated
  Designated funds are funds in which a donor has specified the charitable recipient, or recipients, of the income at the time the fund is established.
  
  
• Agency Endowments
  Other nonprofit organizations often place their endowment funds within the Community Foundation for management and investment purposes. The Community Foundation regularly distributes the annual income back to these agencies to help them accomplish their charitable purposes.
  
  
• Special Project and Memorial Funds
  Our primary mission is to establish permanent funds, but we recognize that at times we can better serve the donor and the community through creating a temporary fund. Any type of fund can be a temporary fund; special project, memorial, and donor advised funds are the most common.
  
  
• Variance Power