Attorneys
When it comes to estate planning for your clients, please think of your local Community Foundation as a service provider. Because we offer a variety of donor-designed funds and have our pulse on the nonprofit community, we are a great service for helping your clients explore and achieve their philanthropic goals, both now and in perpetuity. Community Foundations are not in competition with you for clients – we’re here to supplement your services so that you can provide an all-around comprehensive experience for your clients.
Have your heard of the massive “Transfer of Wealth” sucking assets away from our communities? We help counter that by securing a small portion of that wealth before it transfers to the next generation…most likely out of state. By endowing a small portion of wealth, the current generation gets to leave their mark on the issues and local nonprofits that they care about.
The purpose of your local Community Foundation is to secure and grow assets through donor-designed funds that in turn make grants in the community to improve the quality of life. We are the experts in endowment and encourage donors to think of endowment as legacy – a permanent tribute to the family name that gives grants in the community…forever…to keep the family history alive.
Establishing a charitable fund at your local Community Foundation has numerous advantages over establishing a private foundation. Benefits of working with your Community Foundation include reduced administrative costs, established tax-exempt status, additional tax benefits, professional investment management, no minimum annual distribution and access to our team of philanthropic experts. When working with your Community Foundation, your clients have the option to choose their own investment managers or choose from the Community Foundation’s investment portfolios.
Did you know that Donor Advised Funds at Community Foundations do NOT have an annual minimum distribution? That’s one of the many reasons why DAFs at Community Foundations are a much better option than a private foundation. Whether endowed or non-endowed, Donor Advised Funds make grants at their own pace for the issues they care about.
Another advantage in working with your local community foundation to help your client set up a Donor Advised Fund are there are no annual filings. As a component fund of your local Community Foundation, all donor-designed funds are included in our annual State and Federal filings. The assets are transferred and then your local community foundation make the grants!
We help your clients support causes that they care about…. Now and forever.
Community Foundations also have vetted policies regarding Endowment Distributions, Investments, Grantmaking, and more. Each donor-designed fund has a Fund Establishing Document that is signed by both parties before a new fund is finalized. This legal document describes in the detail the asset, what the Foundation is to do with it, how the donor makes grants from it, and who can advise the Foundation about the fund after the donor’s passing.
Most Community Foundations are in compliance with the National Standards of the Council on Foundations. National Standards assures that our governance, investments, and administration follow best practices for ethics, conduct, and transparency.
We understand that you have clients to protect and we know we have donors to protect. The services your local community foundation provides, and the community is the ultimate beneficiary.
For many attorneys, talking about charity with their clients is a fun part of their job. Your local Community Foundation interacts with potential fund holders of all ages, income streams, beliefs, and levels of charitable intent, so we can help you have that conversation – and the community is the ultimate beneficiary.