What is the minimum amount required to establish a charitable fund at CCF? May grants be made to organizations outside of Cobb County?

  • Charitable funds may be established at CCF with as little as $10,000 assuming the intent is to grow the fund to $25,000 or more within the next few years.
  • CCF is able to grant to any 501(c)(3) charitable organization.

How do I justify the higher fee charged by community foundations over commercial charitable fund providers?

CCF’s fees not only pay for services provided (explained further below), they also help to fund some of the work we do in the community, such as:

  • Establishing and raising funds for the Cobb COVID-19 Community Response Fund to help local nonprofits fill gaps in services desperately needed during the pandemic;
  • Collaborating with partners and donors to provide freezer and refrigerated storage for almost 2 million pounds of much-needed food from the USDA to local nonprofits who distributed 1.6 million meals at 48 locations in Cobb during COVID;
  • Working closely with the Cobb Board of Commissioners, advocating for additional CARES Act funding to purchase food for those hardest hit by the pandemic;
  • Partnering with donors and local nonprofits to provide a human services needs assessment in Cobb County to identify and help address material gaps in services, data helps make our grant dollars more impactful;
  • Creating and maintaining Cobb Connection, a searchable, mappable online directory where those in need may find assistance and donors may easily find nonprofits in need of volunteers, financial assistance or goods to help support those in need.
  • Charitable fund fees paid from your giving fund at a community foundation is the equivalent of making a grant to your local community, even if your grant dollars go to charitable organizations outside of your community.

Does CCF offer an online portal enabling fundholders easy access to their charitable fund?

CCF provides DonorView, a user-friendly, online portal for our fundholders. DonorView allows donors 24/7 access to their fund with the ability to:

  • View account balance(s), contribution and grant history, monthly statements
  • Download reports
  • Request grants by organization name or field of interest
  • Add to your fund
  • Access GuideStar, the most up-to-date nonprofit data available and more.

How do your services differ from those provided through a commercial charitable fund provider?

CCF does much more than provide the check-writing services of a gift fund at a brokerage. A few ways CCF supports charitable giving efforts include:

  • Works with donors to identify causes that are important to them, then connect them with the organizations in our community that are making a difference.
  • Develops personal relationships with donors, helping them create a giving strategy to achieve greater charitable impact and offering a level of flexibility that often does not exist at larger organizations.
  • Creates networking opportunities for our donors to connect with other donors and nonprofits to learn about the greatest needs in the community and how they may be most impactful with their grantmaking.

Do you offer charitable fund types that are not available through commercial charitable fund providers?

Yes, in addition to donor-advised funds, we offer the following, all of which are eligible recipients of Qualified Charitable Distributions from IRAs, whereas donor-advised funds are not:

  • Scholarship funds
  • Designated funds
  • Field of Interest funds
  • Unrestricted funds

If my client establishes a fund at Cobb Community Foundation, can I continue to manage their assets?

For funds in excess of $250,000, the fundholder may recommend a particular investment manager for their fund. Our Investment Committee will then review the investment process utilized by the recommended investment manager and the investment policy for the relevant fund(s) and will ultimately make the determination of whether or not the manager will be engaged. To date, all recommended investment managers have been approved. Additionally, through our Investment Partner Program, qualifying investment management firms may now collectively manage pooled assets contributed by their clients to charitable funds established at CCF. An Investment Partner Pool may be established with as little as $100,000 in collective charitable funds but must reach $250,000 within a period not to exceed 24 months.

What are the advantages of creating a Donor-Advised Fund (what we call “Giving Fund”) at Cobb Community Foundation over a private foundation?

A fund with CCF offers the advantages of a private foundation without most of the expense and hassle. As a public charity, we offer donors the maximum charitable tax deductions available, without the limitations imposed on charitable contributions to private foundations.

Compare and contrast private foundations to Donor-Advised Funds here.

 

Have more questions?  Please contact us at CCFTeam@cobbfoundation.org or 770-859-2366 and we will be glad to post them to this page.