Who can make grants?
Throughout your lifetime, or until you resign, you advise on the grantmaking activities of the fund. However, alternatively, you may choose to designate your spouse, your child, or another member of your family or a friend as an advisor to your fund.


Can my kids make grants too?
Yes, you can do this by naming them as successors to your fund. Usually, one generation is named a successors. However, call us to discuss your particular family situation. If you do not name a successor, or after your successors' death or resignation, the Foundation's board of trustees will make these grants from your fund in accordance with your wishes.

What can I name my fund?
Most Donors use their family name for their fund, which appears in Foundation publications, such as the annual report. Or, you may choose a name that is representative of the types of programs you want to support. Or, you may choose a name for the fund that guarantees your anonymity.

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What are my investment options?
To meet their philanthropic objectives, donors may suggest that their fund's assets be invested in any proportion in four investment pools: an equity pool, a fixed income pool, a money market pool, and a socially screened equity pool. For example, for no risk to principal, funds are generally invested solely in the money market pool. Endowed funds, which are intended to maintain purchasing power over time, typically allocate 65% of assets to either of the equity pools and 35% to the fixed income pool.  Within each pool, TCF hires managers who specialize in particular asset classes to ensure that there is superior performance and adequate diversification. Our goal is to benefit from a range of expertise from managers in a way that would be impractical and cost-prohibitive for individual investors.      

Donors may recommend their investment manager for their Donor Advised Fund provided the fund is $25,000 or greater.  Contact TCF at 720.489.0607 for details.                                                     

 Is there a minimum size for a fund?
There is a suggested minimum opening gift of $5,000.  The annual administrative fee charged is between 0.5% and 1% of the assets, with an annual minimum of $150.

What kind of assets can I contribute?
The Foundation can accept many types of assets including cash, publicly traded securities, closely held and restricted stock, real estate, and life insurance policies, intangible assests and personal property.

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What are the costs involved in establishing a fund?
Establishing a fund at the Foundation is free of charge. The Foundation files the federal and state tax returns, provides an independent audit, processes disbursements, mails checks to recipients and grant reports to the donor, administers and invests the assets of the fund, and issues regular financial reports on the status of the fund to the donor.

Is the fund I establish permanent?
It is if you establish a fund as an endowment. It's your choice.

Can other people contribute to the fund I establish?
Yes.


Once You Establish a Fund


What should I do with my Fund Agreement?
Keep one signed original and return the other to the Philanthropic Services staff at TCF who helped you establish your fund. Please call that contact person if you have any questions regarding the Fund Agreement.

Will I be getting any other documents?
After we receive your signed Fund Agreement, you will be sent a welcome binder containing information about the administration of your fund. The binder will serve as a convenient place for you to keep all future correspondence related to your fund.

Will my grant requests always be honored?
You may recommend grants to qualified nonprofit groups and government entities. To comply with applicable IRS regulations however, The Charitable Fund's board of trustees retains the final responsibility for approving distributions from funds. Grants are generally made to organizations recognized under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

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Are my grant recommendations limited to a certain amount?
Donor-advised funds are extremely flexible. Depending on how you set up the fund, you can recommend grants based on an overall percentage of the fund's fair market value (applying a spending rule) or a larger proportion of the fund's assets. Each grant recommendation must be at least $250.

Does the Foundation have a spending rule, and if so, how does that apply to the grants I recommend?
Yes, TCF has a spending rule for funds established as endowments. It does not apply to expendable funds. The spending rule, a formula that determines the amount of money available for grantmaking from endowments, is based on a designated percentage of the fund's fair market value. The Foundation's current spending policy distributes 5% of an average 12-quarter market value annually. Based on historic stock and bond market performance, this should allow the endowment fund to distribute grants in inflation-adjusted amounts in perpetuity.

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What if I don't know who to make grants to or want to know who is doing the best job in my area of interest?
We have excellent staff and extensive research capabilities that are available to help you. For example, we can help you learn about nonprofit groups that work in your areas of interest or do customized research on issues you're interested in. You may also learn about the groups already supported through TCF in the "Research a Group" section of TCF Donor Express. Or, contact Doug Johnson at 720.489.0607 to discuss your interests and goals.

Can I get a refund of a gift made to the Foundation?
All contributions, once accepted by the board of trustees, represent an irrevocable contribution to The Charitable Fund and are not refundable. However, if you want to terminate your fund, simply recommend grants of the fund's entire balance, and then we will close the fund.

Can I make a grant to a private foundation?
All contributions, once accepted by the Board of Trustees, are an irrevocable contribution to The Charitable Fund and are not refundable. However, if you want to terminate your fund, simply recommend grants of the fund's entire balance, and we will then close the fund.

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