Hundreds of area donors and professional advisors rely on us for help establishing or managing charitable funds.

Two Options for Potential Donors

If you’re considering establishing a private foundation, we celebrate and commend your interest in bettering our Eastern Connecticut community, and encourage you to pursue whatever charitable options best suit your needs. Based on our more than 30 years of experience working with area donors – including many private foundations – there are two options we invite you to explore before making your final decision.

If you are not sure whether a private foundation is the right option for you, consider establishing a Donor-Advised Fund with our foundation first – before you begin the protracted and expensive process of establishing your own foundation. This will enable you to experience what personal philanthropy is all about before committing to the financial and legal requirements, and long-term maintenance of a private foundation. Read more about Donor-Advised Funds and Why Donors Choose Us

Supporting Organizations are freestanding 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations which can be established under special provisions of the federal tax code to support a community foundation such as ours. These foundations offer significant tax advantages compared to private foundations.

  • Supporting Organizations maintain their own separate legal status and board of directors, and are responsible for establishing their own investment and grant-making strategies and policies.
  • Our Foundation, under terms of the federal tax law, would appoint a majority of your Supporting Organization’s directors and you would either appoint – or serve as – the other members of the board of directors.
  • We would handle all of the administrative, financial and regulatory reporting responsibilities, enabling the board and donors to focus solely on the grant-making process.
  • Supporting Organizations provide significant tax advantages compared to private foundations.
  • Unlike Donor-Advised Funds, Supporting Organizations can hold additional types of assets, including real estate and closely held stocks. They also require a higher minimum establishing balance than Donor-Advised Funds

If you are considering establishing a private foundation, we would like to work with you on improving the quality of life in Eastern Connecticut.