Explore Fund Types at the Community Foundation

The Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro offers a wide variety of giving vehicles, making it easy for you to support your favorite organizations and causes during your lifetime and after. Here are some options you might consider:

Donor Advised Funds give donors simplicity and flexibility in their giving and tax planning.

• You make contributions to your fund and recommend grants to qualifying charities; the fund operates like a “charitable checking account” but is invested in the foundation’s long-term investment pool, unless advised otherwise.
• You receive an immediate tax deduction whenever you add assets (cash or non-cash assets) and pay no tax on the fund’s future earnings.
• You can let the fund grow until you are ready to recommend grants without being obligated to make a minimum distribution.
• You may manage your grantmaking online and access historical reports on gifts, grants, and performance of your fund.
• You may create a tradition of giving by naming future generations as successor advisors.
• You can continue your support in perpetuity if you choose to endow your fund.
• All financial reporting is done by the Community Foundation.

Special Interest Funds allow you to support your favorite non-profit organization, school, or religious institution in perpetuity.

• This is an endowed fund – you are creating a permanent charitable legacy.
• The organization receives the benefit of endowed funds but isn’t burdened with the management and record-keeping requirements.
• Your fund will be invested in our long-term investment pool, minimizing fund costs and improving efficiency; the fund’s earnings will provide the grantmaking resources to the designated institution.
• You receive an immediate tax deduction on all your contributions, and the Community Foundation provides all necessary administrative and record-keeping services.
• If the beneficiary organization ceases to exist, loses its tax-exempt status, or changes its mission, the Community Foundation can redirect support for a purpose as close as possible to your original intentions.

Field of Interest Funds let you support your favorite cause or need in the community in perpetuity. You identify the area of focus and entrust the Community Foundation with the responsibility of selecting specific recipients of grants from your fund. By doing so, your gift is flexible enough to meet changing community needs.

• This is an endowed fund – you are creating a permanent charitable legacy.
• Your fund will be invested in our long-term investment pool, minimizing fund costs and improving efficiency; the fund’s earnings will provide the grantmaking resources.
• You receive an immediate tax deduction on all your contributions, and the Community Foundation provides all administrative and record-keeping services.
• You are able to tap the Community Foundation’s expertise in program areas to make the most impactful grants to target your issue.

Unrestricted Discretionary Funds give the Community Foundation the ability to take on forward-thinking projects as the needs arise across Greensboro.

• This is an endowed fund – you are creating a permanent, named charitable legacy.
• Your fund will be invested in our long-term investment pool, minimizing fund costs and improving efficiency; the fund’s earnings will provide the grantmaking resources.
• The Community Foundation’s staff and Board of Trustees have been at the forefront of addressing community needs through thoughtful, well-researched local initiatives; this type of fund provides a cornerstone for our civic leadership.
• You receive an immediate tax deduction on all your contributions and all necessary administrative and record-keeping services are handled by the Community Foundation.
• You join some of the most notable philanthropists in Greensboro as change agents for our community, and your giving will be magnified by the collective power of other unrestricted gifts, allowing the Community Foundation to leverage its impact.

Legacy Funds can be used to fulfill a broad array of charitable, community, or estate-planning interests.

• These funds can be endowed or time-specific.
• Your fund will be invested in accordance with its charitable interest.
• You receive an immediate tax deduction on all your contributions and all necessary administrative and record-keeping services are handled by the Community Foundation.