CREATING A DONOR-ADVISED FUND OR SCHOLARSHIP FUND
Contributions to a donor-advised fund or scholarship fund are deductible under the law
as charitable contributions. Consider supporting Equity Foundation and the larger
community with these two types of funding options.
Benefits of a Donor-Advised Fund
A donor-advised fund is a flexible, strategic giving vehicle available to any donor who is
able to meet the minimum initial contribution requirement ($5,000). Consequently, a
DAF donor represents a broad range of Oregon philanthropists. Some donors may be
attracted to the simplicity offered by donor-advised funds whereas others may be
drawn by their ability to easily contribute complex (or non-publicly traded) assets.
Whatever the reason, DAF donors tend to share some common characteristics. They are
active, they are strategic philanthropists, and they are committed to the causes they
care about.
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You can make recommendations on your own schedule for grants to
organizations you support and care about. We can also provide granting
recommendations.
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You can also make a grant directly to Equity Foundation’s Granting and
Operations Fund to support Equity Foundation's infrastructure and the general
annual grantmaking cycle. Your donation to Equity provides support for those
organizations that will receive funding this year and helps ensure we will meet
our grant funding goals.
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Organizations you recommend must comply with Equity’s non-discrimination
policy to receive funding.
Prior to awarding funds, we will: verify that the organization is a qualified 501(c)(3)
organization; approve the grant through a Board vote; notify the recipient organization
of the gift from your fund and issue a grant contract between Equity Foundation and the
recipient organization specifying the project to be funded; and transfer the funds.
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If the grant is one recommended to you from Equity, it means our grants committee has
reviewed the grant application for strength, originality and alignment with Equity
Foundation’s mission and funding priorities. Our thorough review also includes an
assessment of the capability of the organization to effectively implement the program
for which funding is sought. Grant applications are then rated and reviewed by Equity
Foundation's Board as a whole to determine final funding levels from Equity
Foundation's general grant fund. Once the grant is funded, a grant contract is issued
and follow-up reporting by the grantee is arranged.
Partnering with Equity Foundation in its general granting cycle allows you to leverage
your time and fund resources for maximum effectiveness. We hope it will also give you
the opportunity to become aware of new projects and organizations doing work in the
community in areas of particular interest to you. By combining your gift with Equity
Foundation's and those of other donor-advised funds, we are able to fund larger, more
ambitious projects.
Grant-Giving Logistics
To recommend a grant or accept a recommendation made to you, a signed written
request specifying the organization, project (if applicable), contact information and
grant amount is used. A sample of the form you would use is attached.
Donor-Advised Fund grants are presented by the Grants Committee co-chair to the
Board on a monthly basis for approval. Grant requests generally need to be provided to
Equity by the last day of the month.
Grant contracts are issued the week following their approval, with a letter advising the
grant recipient that they have received a gift from a donor-advised fund of Equity
Foundation. If you prefer a gift to be anonymous, we can accommodate that at the time
you recommend the grant. Checks are disbursed as the signed contracts are returned.
Once the check has gone out you will receive a confirmation from us that the grant has
been disbursed. You also will receive any acknowledgements that comes to us from the
recipient organizations.
Fund Reporting
The Fund provides you with the opportunity to claim an immediate tax deduction but
give over time, with Equity Foundation providing a centralized place to invest and
manage the distribution and reporting services for your funds. Quarterly, you will
receive a report showing your fund’s activity and current balance. Donor-Advised Fund
reports also will reflect investment gains or losses for the quarter.
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Adding to Your Fund
As a donor-advised fund, new gifts to your fund can be made at any time. Gifts made
during the month will typically be "swept" out of our money market funds and invested
during the first week of each month and will begin to accrue gain and loss after the first
full month that funds have been deposited. Please keep in mind that this is our target
timeline only, not a guaranteed one. No adjustment will be made for market
fluctuations during the liquidation process. It is also important to note that gifts of
unusual or illiquid assets may take significantly longer to liquidate and invest.
Equity's funds are managed by a professional manager using socially responsible
investment screening, with input from our Investment Committee based on the
relatively conservative, long-term investment horizon typical of a foundation. However,
fluctuation in market value of all invested funds is to be expected, and losses sometime
do occur. If you wish to avoid market fluctuation, choosing the Money Market
investment strategy may be more appropriate, especially if you tend to move funds
through your DAF in a short time frame.
Benefits of a Scholarship Fund
Providing support to the education of LGBTQ students is a priority for many Equity
donors. A wonderful way to do this is by creating a scholarship fund. You can create the
scholarship parameters and you can be as involved as you would like in choosing the
recipients of your scholarship. Many of the tax benefits, investment structures and
contributions to your fund mentioned above apply to our scholarship funds as well.
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You will leave a legacy by supporting the education of our community’s future
leaders
You establish the criteria for your scholarship including area of study, geography,
or students with particular needs or backgrounds.
You can interact with the scholars if you choose, hearing from them first-hand
about their life goals and experiences.
Scholarship Logistics
Equity staff will arrange volunteer committees to read and score scholarship
applications for each scholarship housed here if the donor so desires. The donor may
also choose to review applications personally and let staff know whom they have
selected. The donor will decide on the size of scholarship to give yearly and how many
scholarship can be given in a fiscal year.
We will advertise the scholarship availability through our networks including schools,
other organizations, our website and social media pages.
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Universities, colleges, or other accredited institutions must have a non-discrimination
policy to receive scholarship funds from Equity.
*All donor-advised grants and scholarships are subject to availability of money in their
fund as of the date of the disbursement of the check by Equity. If disbursements or
market decline have put an account in the position of not being adequate to fully fund
the recommended grant, we would contact you and request instructions on how to
proceed.
Partner Commitment
Donor-advised funds and endowed funds pay a fee of less than one percent annually to
reimburse Equity for the management fee paid to our investment manager.
Additionally, each Fund advisor is expected to make a yearly financial commitment to
support Equity's work. No minimum figure is required, but we anticipate your
experience with Equity will continue to be meaningful and will inspire your generosity.
Thank you for your consideration of a Donor-Advised Fund and/or Scholarship Fund.
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