funds for our community
“We trust the community foundation to know where help is needed. We want to improve lives, right here in this community, for generations to come, whatever challenges our region may face. That’s why we established an unrestricted fund to support the community’s greatest needs at any point in time.”
—Emily and Jesse Reed
What is an unrestricted fund?
Major advantages of the community foundation include its perpetual structure, community-based governance, and commitment to addressing needs as they change. An unrestricted fund allows you and your family to provide support that evolves over time as priorities in the region shift.
The community foundation’s mission is to thoroughly understand the community and improve lives within it.
The community foundation’s board and professional staff conduct ongoing, extensive research about the needs of the community and the nonprofit programs that are addressing those needs.
Establishing an unrestricted fund means you are investing in the community foundation to support programs that are addressing the community’s most pressing needs as well as needs that can’t be identified until the future.
How do I establish an unrestricted fund?
The community foundation’s professional staff will work with you to create documentation that establishes your unrestricted fund.
You may name the fund whatever you’d like.
You may add assets to the fund during your lifetime, In the alternative, or in addition, you may wish to make arrangements in your estate plan for the fund to receive a bequest from your will, trust, or beneficiary designation following your death.
As is the case with other contributions to community foundation funds, lifetime gifts to your unrestricted fund are eligible for an immediate income tax deduction. Assets transferred to the fund upon your death are eligible for an estate tax deduction.
How is an unrestricted fund administered?
When you establish an unrestricted fund at the community foundation, you are engaging the foundation’s board of directors and professional staff to use the money in the fund to achieve the greatest impact for the community for the long term.
Every day, the team at the community foundation works with members of our board of directors, civic leaders, and nonprofit organizations to deeply understand where people need help.
Today, the most pressing needs might be for emergency assistance in response to a disaster. Tomorrow, the need could be for scholarships for inner city youth, or research to improve access to healthcare.
Your community foundation has its finger on the pulse of the community’s top priorities and the best way to address them.
Tax-savvy giving
Using your IRA to build your unrestricted fund
If you (and/or your spouse!) own an IRA, you are in luck because the moment you pass the age of 70 1/2, you may be eligible to make annual distributions up to $108,000 per spouse (2025 allowance) from those accounts directly to your unrestricted fund at the community foundation. This is called a “Qualified Charitable Distribution,” or “QCD.” Not only do QCD transfers count toward satisfying your Required Minimum Distributions, but you also avoid the income tax on those funds. Furthermore, those assets are no longer part of your estate upon your death, so you can avoid estate taxes, too.
We’re here for you
Whatever your charitable giving goals may be, our team at the community foundation can help. We care about our community as much as you do. Our board of directors and staff are committed to understanding your perspectives on the challenges facing the quality of life in our region. Deeply familiar with local nonprofits, we can serve as a resource to help you give when, how, and to the causes you want. Our tools and back-office administration capabilities make it easy to keep your giving organized and tax-savvy.