top of page

Types of Funds

FOR DONORS

One of the unique features of a community foundation is the ability to offer donors a wide variety of types of charitable funds. Each one can be tailored to suit the donor’s situation and goals.

Affiliate Funds

Serving another community, expert assistance

Affiliates are funds set up within a geographic area to benefit the local community. These funds serve as “community foundations” or “community funds” with local citizens serving on advisory boards. As an affiliate of KACF, an organization benefits from KACF’s financial management, grantmaking assistance and other staff expertise. The Kearney Area Community Foundation serves as the “back office” for many affiliate funds, leaving the fundraising and grantmaking to the local experts.

Designated Funds

Helping local organizations sustain and grow

Establishing a Designated Fund allows a donor to support the good work of a specific nonprofit organization – a senior center, museum, or virtually any nonprofit charitable organization. Because it’s given through the community foundation, a gift provides not only funding to the organization a donor selects, but planned giving and investment management services and the power of endowment.

Field of Interest Funds

Connecting personal values to high-impact opportunities

By establishing a Field of Interest Fund, a donor can target their gift to address needs in an important area of community life. Arts. Literacy. Aging. Youth at Risk. The donor identifies their personal interest area when making a gift; the foundation board awards grants to community organizations and programs that are making a difference in the area the donor selects. The gift stays flexible enough to meet community needs in the donor’s interest area – even as they change over time.

Organization Funds

Endowing your nonprofit organization

 

Nonprofit organizations can also establish a Designated Fund or an Organization Endowment at the community foundation. It’s a simple and efficient way to build an endowment – and help create sustainability – for a nonprofit organization. The community foundation’s experienced staff can also help an organization develop planned giving programs and assist with investment management and administrative details.

Supporting Organizations

High impact, high involvement, low hassle

 

A Supporting Organization is an excellent alternative to a private foundation – with only a fraction of the administrative responsibilities. You select an advisory committee, maintain personal involvement, and support the causes you care about most while enjoying the favorable tax treatment of a public charity. Leave investment management, startup costs, grant administration, and reporting to your community foundation.

Donor Advised Funds

A personal approach to giving

 

Establishing a Donor Advised Fund allows a donor to make a gift to the community foundation, then remain actively involved in suggesting uses for the gift. A donor can work with the community foundation’s professional staff to suggest ongoing uses for the fund – targeting the issues they care about most. Grant awards are issued to charities in the name of the fund (or anonymously if the donor prefers). It’s a simple, powerful, and highly personal approach to giving.

Scholarships

Inventing in deserving students

 

In creating a Scholarship, a donor invests in the community’s future and shows students they care. The community foundation provides the expertise to help meet donor’s personal goals and awards scholarships to deserving students. A gift can help students – from preschool to postgraduate – achieve their lifetime dreams.

Unrestricted Funds

Meeting ever-changing community needs

 

When a donor establishes an Unrestricted Fund, their gift can address a broad range of local needs – including future needs that often cannot be anticipated at the time the gift is made. KACF evaluates all aspects of community well-being: arts and culture, economic development, education, community/civic, health, human service, recreation, religion (non-denominational). The flexibility of an unrestricted gift enables the community foundation to respond to the community’s most pressing needs, today and tomorrow.

bottom of page