We are home to over 600 charitable funds created by generous area individuals, families, businesses and civic organizations who care about Eastern Connecticut.
We are Here To Serve You
If you’re considering establishing a charitable fund to benefit the residents of Eastern Connecticut, we welcome your involvement and commend your generosity.
- Our foundation is a well-established, widely trusted public charity that serves as the hub for meaningful philanthropy for 42 communities in New London, Windham and Tolland Counties.
- We make it easy and joyful for area donors – and the professional advisors who represent them – to establish personally meaningful, sustainable, charitable funds that make a powerful impact on the issues and communities of interest to them.
- We are delighted to walk you or your advisors through the process, explain all the details and provide support. Read more about Why Donors Choose Us
Questions To Consider
Some questions we recommend new donors consider when they begin to contemplate their charitable giving.
We specialize in helping our donors create charitable funds that make a meaningful impact on the issues and communities they care about. We work closely with our donors to help you learn more about the causes you care about and achieve your philanthropic goals. Read more about Our Work and Our Communities.
Would you like to start giving immediately, prefer to make a future donation through your estate, or would you like to do both? There are many options open to you. We specialize in helping our donors develop charitable funds customized to their financial needs, abilities and preferences. Read more about the different Types of Funds (below) that are available and how to Give to an Existing Fund or Give Later: Leave a Legacy
Endowed funds enable you to make grants in perpetuity, ensuring your generosity endures for generations to come. They’re, by definition, permanent. Our Board of Trustees, Investment Committee and professional investment managers oversee the strategic investments of endowed funds to ensure we maximize financial returns on our donors’ funds to issue as many grants and scholarships from those funds as possible each year. Non-endowed funds – or “pass-through funds” – are not permanent. We ensure these funds always remain liquid and accessible so that they can be distributed upon our donors’ request. Read more about Our Financial Accountability and Our Investment Strategies
We can help you establish a fund that addresses one specific philanthropic interest or a broad field of interest. Whatever your preference, we’ll connect you to the most effective nonprofits working on the issues you’re passionate about. Read more about Types of Funds (below) and Why Donors Choose Us
Some donors wish to establish funds in their own name or in honor of a cherished family member or friend, or in recognition of someone’s birthday, anniversary, wedding or other milestone; others prefer to donate in anonymity. We will work with you to ensure the level of public visibility you desire. Read more about Why Donors Choose Us
We are able to accept a wide variety of charitable gifts – from cash and stocks, to retirement plan assets and life insurance benefits. Read more about Gifts We Accept
We are committed to maximizing our donors’ investments so their funds can issue as many grants as possible every year to benefit our community.
While there are no fees involved in setting up a charitable fund at our foundation, there are some small fees associated with its ongoing administration.
Types of Funds
There’s a variety of charitable funds to choose from – each of which offers specific advantages and benefits. We would love the opportunity to walk you through the choices and help identify the best options for you.
Donor Advised Fund allows individuals, families, civic organizations and businesses to choose the particular nonprofits they would like to support and the specific level of support they would like to provide. $10,000 minimum endowed; $5,000 minimum pass-through.
Important Fund Attributes
- These funds allow the donor – or persons designated by the donor – to make their own grant recommendations. The donor specifies the charitable organizations that will benefit from the fund, as well as the amount of the grant each organization will receive.
- These funds are popular among donors who prefer to have ongoing involvement in their charitable giving; and offer a cost-effective, time-saving alternative to establishing a private foundation.
- These funds are excellent vehicles for setting aside charitable dollars now and distributing them gradually over time. They can be set up as charitable investment accounts, with a portion of the fund’s income available for distribution annually or as needs arise.
- Grants issued through these funds are not limited to specific charitable organizations or areas of charitable interest.
- Donors can designate their children or other loved ones to serve as their “successor advisors” and specify how the fund may be transitioned to continue to honor their charitable wishes upon the death of their last designated successor advisor.
An Endowed Designated Fund allows donors to designate one or more specific nonprofits they would like to support in perpetuity. $10,000 minimum.
Important Fund Attributes
- These funds allow donors to specify the charitable organizations that will receive annual grants from the fund. They are an effective way to provide ongoing support to organizations that matter to you.
- Grants issued through these funds are limited to the specific charitable organizations that donors designate when the funds are established.
- If a designated nonprofit should dissolve, the donor can choose another closely-aligned charity to support (our foundation can also assume this responsibility if the donor is no longer living).
- These funds may be established by a gift during the donor’s lifetime or as a Planned Gift during estate planning.
An Endowed Field of Interest Fund allows donors to support issues of broad charitable concern that are important to them. $10,000 minimum.
Important Fund Attributes
- These funds allow donors to designate the specific fields of charitable interest the fund will support in perpetuity. These “fields of interest” can consist of a specific charitable issue – such as youth empowerment, health and human services, environmental protection and animal welfare – or a specific community or population.
- These funds give donors the flexibility to provide grants, to long established nonprofits as well as to emerging nonprofits or new programs, that address their charitable interests. They offer a broad, far-reaching way for donors to ensure their favorite causes enjoy ongoing support.
- Our foundation handles the grantmaking process. We solicit grant proposals from nonprofits in the designated field of interest, then convene a Grants Committee that reviews the proposals; vets the nonprofits to ensure they are effective in their missions and match your intentions; and awards grants to the nonprofits that offer the most promising programs, projects and solutions.
An Endowed Scholarship Fund allows donors to provide financial assistance for area students at qualified educational institutions. $25,000 minimum. Before establishing a scholarship fund, read our Scholarship Fund Policy.
Important Fund Attributes
- These funds enable donors to help open doors to educational opportunities for local students.
- Donors may share any background, desired impact, or purpose for the scholarship so that Foundation staff may provide recommendations for eligibility criteria.
- We review the Scholarship Applications and select the scholarship recipients, ensuring that recipients meet all qualifying criteria.
- All of our scholarship funds are endowed, meaning they are distributed in a way that allows them to provide scholarships forever.
- About Our Scholarships
An Endowed Unrestricted Fund allows donors to support the community’s needs as they emerge, no matter how those needs may change over time. $10,000 minimum.
Important Fund Attributes
- These funds enable our foundation to address the most pressing community issues as they arise and to respond effectively to changing needs in Eastern Connecticut. They can be used to support new and innovative programs and ideas, as well as nonprofits addressing new challenges.
- Our foundation is responsible for identifying and documenting community needs and overseeing the fund’s administration.
- Our foundation also handles the grantmaking process. We solicit grant proposals from appropriate nonprofits, then convene a Grants Committee to review the proposals; vet the nonprofits to ensure they are effective in their missions; and award grants to the nonprofits that offer the most promising programs, projects and solutions.
An Endowed Sustainability Fund allows donors to directly support the work of the Community Foundation in order to excel in its role as a philanthropic leader. $10,000 minimum.
Important Fund Attributes
- These funds enable us to maintain and strengthen our role as the hub for meaningful philanthropy for 42 thriving communities in the eastern part of our state.
- They allow us to serve our donors and nonprofit partners efficiently and cost effectively, and keep our administrative and investment fees as low as possible.
- These funds enable us to continue our work to establish powerful, sustainable charitable funds that reflect the passions of generous area donors; issue annual charitable grants to nonprofits and scholarships to students; help local nonprofit organizations strengthen their capabilities; and serve our community as a common meeting ground where regional leaders can convene to address community needs.
NPO Endowments enable nonprofit organizations to establish a charitable fund at our foundation that produces a predictable, perpetual revenue stream that supports their operations and programs. $25,000 minimum.
Important Fund Attributes
- These funds enable nonprofit organizations to partner with us in the management of their endowment by taking advantage of Our Investment Strategies – which include a proven, diversified, asset-allocation approach and lower investment expenses than they could typically receive on their own.
- While a nonprofit’s funds are invested as part of our overall investment pool, they are tracked as distinct funds. We annually distribute a portion of the fund back to the nonprofit according to a pre-determined spending formula, which is carefully calculated to enable the funds to grow while providing a reliable income stream.
- These nonprofit partners enjoy access to the full range of expertise available from our foundation to help them not only build their endowment, but strengthen their organization and overall effectiveness.
- NPO Endowments with our Foundation.
Our Fees
We are committed to maximizing our donors’ investments so their funds can issue as many grants as possible each year to benefit our community.
- While there are no fees involved in setting up a charitable fund at our foundation, there are some small fees associated with its ongoing administration.
- Our administrative fees help cover the costs of bookkeeping and auditing associated with your fund, as well as the staff time devoted to investment oversight, grant making, acknowledging contributions and exercising the required due diligence over recipients of grants or scholarships.
- These fees, together with direct gifts we sometimes receive to cover our overhead costs, enable us to serve our donors and nonprofit partners efficiently and cost effectively. In a sense, they are more than simple charges for the delivery of professional services – they are important contributions to the community in and of themselves.
- We charge an annual administrative fee of 1.5% of a fund’s value for all charitable funds (1% for Nonprofit Organization Endowments).
- For endowed scholarship funds, the administrative fee has a minimum of 2.0%. The actual fee will be dependent upon the complexity of the fund.
Boston Trust Walden (BTW) SRI portfolio: Investment management and custody fees of .46% (46 basis points) include an investment management fee for separately managed assets and indirect compensation received by BTIM Inc., a subsidiary of Boston Trust which advises proprietary mutual funds held in the account.
The separately managed asset fee is based on the prior calendar quarter’s ending market value, including accruals, and may be adjusted to reflect significant cash flows during the quarter. Proprietary fund fees (the mutual fund expense ratio) are charged to applicable funds as detailed in the funds’ prospectus and SAI. To prevent duplicative fees on assets, proprietary fund holdings within the account are excluded from the separately managed asset market value.
Read more about Our Financial Accountability
Create a Fund
If you are interested in Creating a Fund, you can fill out a simple form to get the process started. Once submitted, our Development Office will follow up with you!
We are ready to assist you.
We can help you have a meaningful impact on the issues and communities you care about.
Please contact us for a confidential conversation.
Geoffrey Taylor
Director of Donor Relations
Lauren C. Parda
Director of Development
Geoffrey Taylor
Director of Donor Relations
Lauren C. Parda
Director of Development
