Madison County Community Foundation

How to Set Up a Fund

Creating a fund at the Madison County Community Foundation is simple. You can create a fund in honor of someone you love or to celebrate a special event. You can direct your gift to issues you care about or to wherever the needs are greatest. However you give, your gift can change lives – today and in the future.

Steps to Setting up a Fund

1 Decide When to Give You can create your fund now, establish it in your will, or create it through a trust arrangement that benefits your family as well as a charity. You may give in honor of an anniversary, to celebrate a special event or to support a cause. Tax deductions are earned at the time of your gift, while grants awarded from your fund will continue into the future.

2 Decide What to Give Almost any kind of asset can be used to start your fund, such as cash, publicly traded securities, closely held stock, interests in limited partnerships, real estate, life insurance, tangible personal property and private foundation assets. We can also discuss other options with you, such as bequests, charitable remainder unitrusts, charitable remainder annuity trusts, charitable lead trusts, pooled income funds, charitable gift annuities, life income and deferred charitable gift annuities.

3 Choose the Name of Your Fund Most of our funds are named for the donor or the donor’s family or as a memorial to someone special. Every grant from the fund will carry this name. If you prefer anonymity, you may choose a name that reflects your fund’s charitable purposes.

4 Choose a Type of Fund We offer a variety of funds that are flexible to meet our donors’ different charitable interests. A list of these types are:

Unrestricted Funds offer the broadest giving option, allowing the Foundation to make grants where and when they're need most.

Field-of-Interest Funds create grants that meet needs in a particular field or geographic area that is of interest to you.

Donor-Advised Funds enable you to recommend specific organizations to receive grants.

Scholarship Funds help students pursue academic goals. You  help define guidelines for candidacy, and can be part of the selection committee.

Designated Funds let you support specific organizations while we make sure that grants to these groups remain relevant over time and responsive to changing circumstances.

Organization Endowment Funds are established by nonprofit organizations to provide income to them. We handle all administrative and investment responsibilities, freeing the organization to pursue its charitable mission.

If you would like additional information, including tax information, estate planning, and wills, please contact us. We would love to speak with you more about the numerous ways you can impact your community.