How to Give

Any donor, large or small, may establish a fund at the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois.  Donors first identify their philanthropic objectives, then the Foundation’s professional staff helps clarify goals and the means to achieve them.  The fund is established, then named by the donor, using their own name or the name of someone to be honored or memorialized.  The fund may also be named for the nonprofit organization it benefits or for the charitable dream of the donor.

For more information on how to establish a fund at the Community Foundation, please call (815) 962-2110 ext. 16.

Types of Funds

Donors may specify the general or specific purpose(s) of a gift or contributions may be unrestricted, to be directed toward the most pressing needs of the community. Either way, a contribution to the Community Foundation will have a lasting impact.

Unrestricted Funds enable the Foundation to respond with maximum flexibility to changing community needs and to enhance the overall quality of life. Donors place no restrictions upon how these funds are used.

Field of Interest Funds support a broad area of concern, such as the arts, education, youth, health or the disabled. The donor entrusts the foundation to select recipient agencies within a broad field of interest. The Foundation currently administers 3 Field of Interest Funds, supporting the Arts, Youth and families in crisis.

Donor Advised Funds provide a more “hands-on” approach for individuals or families who wish to play an active role in charitable giving. Donors may recommend distributions to specific charities of their choice. Working like a family foundation, the Donor Advised Fund combines flexibility, convenience, and involvement in grantmaking. A Donor Advised Fund can be easily established with a simple fund agreement.

Acorn Funds build charitable endowments funds in much the same way as individuals build retirement plans: through regular contributions invested for growth and income. As with all of our charitable funds, contributions to Acorn Funds are tax deductible to the maximum extent allowed by law. The donor can choose the name for his or her fund and, when it reaches a market value of $10,000, the donor can recommend how the income is distributed in grants to his or her favorite charities.

Designated Funds ensure that permanent support is provided to specific charities named by the donor. Grants from this type of fund are often used as operating support by the recipient.

Agency Endowment Funds offer the benefits of the Foundation’s investment management services to nonprofit agencies seeking to build endowments for long-term needs.

Scholarship Funds may be designed to meet the donor’s specifications. For example, scholarship criteria can be based upon specific talents or achievements, graduate from a specific high school, studying a particular subject, or attending a certain institution.

Corporate Giving Programs administered by the Community Foundation assist in fulfilling corporate contribution goals while saving on administrative costs. In highly profitable years, a corporation can donate funds to the Foundation to be distributed in future years.

Private Foundations benefit from the services of the Community Foundation. For convenience and tax savings, donors should consider transferring their foundation’s assets to the Community Foundation, where they remain as discrete, named endowments, with the donor retaining the right to recommend grant distributions.

Charitable Remainder Trusts permit the donor to retain a portion of the income from assets donated to the Community Foundation for their life, then designate the Foundation and other charities as beneficiaries.

Donations

The Community Foundation accepts a wide variety of assets, including:

• Cash
• Credit Cards
• Securities
• Closely-held Stock
• Retirement Plan Assets (annuities, pensions and IRA’s)
• Real Estate
• Life Insurance Policies