Start a Fund

Donor Advised Funds are a convenient choice for simplifying charitable giving. This type of fund is housed at a public foundation, community foundation, or a select number of financial institutions, and permits donors to specify the general community purpose and, in most cases, to have the right to make grant recommendations. Donor advised funds are generally established by individuals or families, but in some cases can be created by social or professional groups. A donor advised fund may be set up as a simple grantmaking account, with grants drawn down from the balance until the funds have been distributed to organizations. Or, it can be established as an Endowed Fund, which creates a fund with a long-term purpose. The grants are made from an account using only the interest earned from investment. An Endowed Donor Advised Fund is an investment in the future.  

Whether you choose to give as an individual, with your family, or as part of a social group or network, the next step is to move to more strategic and sustained forms of giving.  

1. Decide When To Give:  Create a fund during your lifetime, by will, or through a trust arrangement that benefits your family as well as the charity of your choice.
2. Decide What to Give: Many kinds of resources can be used to establish or contribute to a fund: cash, appreciated stocks or securities, qualified retirement plan assets, life insurance, tangible personal property, private foundation assets, bequests, and charitable trusts.
3. Choose the Name of Your Fund: You may choose to receive recognition, honor the memory of a loved one, or remain anonymous when naming a fund.
4. Choose the Type of Fund: Donor advised funds, institutional giving, annual giving, and unrestricted gifts are all satisfying options for giving.
5. Stay Involved: As our community’s needs change, our traditions of giving ought to evolve, too. Endowments, donor advised funds, strategic giving — all are fresh means to support the health of our neighborhoods and the sustainability of organizations serving the Black community.  

The generosity of the Black community has always been the hidden wellspring of our strength and survival. Now is the time to maximize our giving.  To learn more, contact the Twenty-First Century Foundation at 212-662-3700.