North Bend has had a community foundation for over 20 years, but still there are many who don't know that or who don't know what a community foundation does. This column from the Fremont Area Community Foundation will answer some of those questions.
WHAT IS A COMMUNITY FOUNDATION?
A community foundation is a collection of charitable funds established by individuals, families and organizations—a tax-exempt, publicly supported foundation governed by its own board of directors. The first community foundation was created in Cleveland, Ohio in 1914. Today, more than 740 community foundations in the United States manage an estimated $58 billion in assets.
Community foundations are overseen by volunteer boards of leading citizens and run by professionals with expertise in knowing their communities' needs. In addition to making grants that advance charitable activities in their localities, community foundations also identify current and emergin issues, stimulate resources to address those needs and help their communities prepare for the future.
WHAT DOES A COMMUNITY FOUNDATION DO?
A community foundation receives charitable gifts, manages charitable assets and makes charitable grants. Community foundations offer several types of funds to help donors achieve their charitable goals and to meet community needs. Donor-advised funds allow donors to make recommendations about how charitable grants are made from the fund. Many donors establish donor-advised funds as an alternative to setting up their own private foundations, with fewer administrative burdens and generally greater flexibility and tax benefits. In addition to donor-advised funds, community foundations offer
- Designated funds, which benefit a particular charitable organization or program
- Scholarship funds, which enable qualified students to pursue their academic dreams
- Field of interest funds, which allow donors to dedicate gifts to an area of charitythat is particularly meaningful to them, such as education, health care, children, the elderly or arts and culture
- Unrestricted funds, which are used by a community foundation in competitive grant making to meet critical community needs
- Agency funds, which allow nonprofits to benefit from a community foundation's experience.
To find out more about the North Bend Area Community Foundation, click here.
