Types of Funds

There are several types of charitable funds available to support your giving at the Community Foundation. Choose the one that matches your personal approach to giving and your charitable intent. Our staff is eager to discuss these options with you and to help you select one that matches your giving needs.

Unrestricted Funds

The Community Foundation’s Board of Directors oversees the use of unrestricted funds, giving us the ability to respond to pressing and often changing needs in the community, to offer programs that build the capacity of area nonprofits to meet these needs, and to support the Foundation’s ongoing operations.

Field of Interest Funds

An endowed field of interest fund allows donors to target their gifts to address needs in an important and specific area of community life such as the arts, hunger relief, conservation, or animal welfare. You identify your personal interest area when making your gift; our board awards grants to community organizations and programs that are making an impact in the area you select. Your gift stays flexible enough to meet community needs in your interest area over time.

For donors without a specific interest area, you can make a contribution to the Community Foundation’s General Endowment, a long-term funding source for general charitable purposes serving the New River Valley.

Designated Funds


Donors wishing to support a specific charitable agency or cause can establish a designated fund. If the original charity ceases to exist, becomes obsolete or is unable to perform its charitable purpose, the Community Foundation Board of Directors is able to redirect the funds to an organization providing similar services without the cost of expensive legal action.

In addition, many nonprofit organizations establish a designated fund with us in order to grow assets to meet both current and future needs. They look to the Foundation for strong investment oversight services and ask our staff to manage all of the administrative details of the endowment. This can provide a relatively constant source of annual income and help maintain their mission in perpetuity. It also frees the nonprofit to focus on what they do best in the community. 

Donor-Advised Funds


Donor-advised funds allow donors to actively participate in the grantmaking process by recommending charitable projects or organizations they wish to support. As a donor advisor,  you are welcomed and encouraged to participate in the Foundation’s competitive grant process by reviewing, discussing and prioritizing applications with the Foundation’s Distribution Committee.  You may also recommend that grant distributions be made from your fund outside of the competitive process at anytime throughout the year. The Foundation’s Board of Directors is responsible for reviewing recommendations from donor advisors and approving all grant distributions.

Giving Circles are an increasingly popular form of donor-advised funds. Groups of individuals pool their money to establish and grow their fund and collectively decide on how grant funds are distributed with the support of the foundation's expert staff and volunteers. Giving circles make it possible for anyone to meet their charitable goals regardless of wealth, demonstrating the power of pooled resources to have a substantial impact. More information about giving circles can be found here.

Scholarship Funds


Scholarship Funds allow New River Valley students with a range of backgrounds, interests and abilities to pursue higher education. Donors may tailor their funds to benefit students with a demonstrated financial need, those pursuing a particular major, or those with certain extracurricular activities, among other criteria. Scholarship recipients are chosen by a Scholarship Selection Committee that participates in all aspects of the scholarship program, including outreach and review of applications.
 Donors interested in participating in the application review process may serve on this committee following a brief orientation to its policies and procedures.

 

The Anatomy of a Fund

With the exception of unrestricted funds, all funds created at the CFNRV have two components to allow for maximum flexibility while ensuring a long-term source of funding to meet your charitable interest. They are:

Endowment: This is your savings account for the community, providing a source of funding that will meet your charitable interest in perpetuity. The principal participates in the Foundation’s investment pool managed by local money managers. Investment earnings are allocated amongst all participating funds each quarter.  Grant and scholarship distribution amounts are calculated based on the distribution percentage set by the CFNRV Board of Directors annually. A fund is considered fully endowed when it reaches $10,000; donors have five years to reach this threshold.

Pass-Through: This is your checking account, allowing you to make an impact on immediate community needs. The principal may be spent down to zero and replenished as needed. Pass-through funds remain in a money market account and grants and scholarships may be distributed from the pass-through in an amount requested by the donor.

The Foundation assesses a modest 1% annual administrative fee on restricted funds. For further information about fund management, contact the Foundation at 540-381-8999 or at cfnrv@cfnrv.org.