FAQS

Setting up a donor-advised fund is easy and can be done within 24 hours. All you need to do is select a name for your fund, sign a grant agreement and contribute at least $5,000 to get started.

$5,000 is the minimum required balance. We manage funds as large as hundreds of millions.

In your fund agreement you will identify fund advisors who direct the grantmaking. The fund advisors will receive access to our online portal where grantmaking is easy. Our staff is also here to assist donors in grantmaking.

Yes. In addition to individuals, groups, boards and companies can also be named.

Yes. Successor advisors may be named at any time. Fund advisors can also be changed at any time. A majority of fund advisors must approve a change. Please contact us for the necessary form.

Donor-advised funds can recommend grants to any nonprofit organizations in support of charitable activities. You may choose to define a cause or philanthropic interest or have a broad scope of giving.

As fund advisor, you can recommend grants as often as you like and have sufficient balance in your fund.

No. The Pension Protection Act of 2006 prohibits making grants from donor-advised funds, including scholarships, directly to individuals. Grants must always be made to a nonprofit organization.

No. Unlike a private foundation, grants do not have to be made every year, nor does a minimum percentage need to be granted. If no grants have been made from a fund for three years, we will collaborate with your chosen fund advisors to be sure the charitable purpose of the fund is accomplished.

Yes, but we ask you to contact us prior to beginning any fundraising efforts so we can talk about the guidelines and policies. This also ensures we can properly acknowledge gifts received from fundraising activities. Also, it's important you know that fundraising expenses cannot be paid out of a donor advised fund.

Endowed Scholarship Funds, to be maintained in perpetuity, require a minimum initial gift of $250,000, while Non-Endowed Scholarship Funds require a minimum initial gift of $100,000.

Yes. We will help you develop selection criteria most meaningful to you. Scholarships can support students from particular schools or geographic areas, students who will attend a certain university or are engaged in a specific program of study or activity.

You may also recommend criteria such as GPA, test scores, work experience, personal essay, or extracurricular activities be given more weight than other criteria in the selection process. The only restriction is that the selection criteria must be objective and non-discriminatory.

No. You may set up a scholarship for any educational pursuit from early childhood through higher education and beyond to adult continuing education.

No. A selection committee cannot be made up entirely of donors to the fund, related parties, such as family members, employees or the board members of an organization-supported scholarship. According to IRS regulations, donors can comprise no more than one-third of a scholarship committee. This means, for example, if two donors wish to participate on a selection committee, the committee must have at least six people.

Yes. In fact, many scholarships set up certain positions to serve on the selection committee rather than naming individuals. We honor these requests whenever possible. As an example, a scholarship for a particular high school might have a selection committee including the high school principal, two teachers and the track coach. Another might name specific people.

No. Scholarships may only be paid to educational institutions in support of the recipient.

Yes. However, if a student does not meet the minimum requirements to receive the scholarship they will still be awarded funds for the following semester on a probationary basis. Should the student not make the requirements for a second consecutive semester, the scholarship will be terminated.

We would love to facilitate this opportunity for you. Please contact Katie Kuehl for more details.

Designated funds are a way you can provide a steady, long-term source of income for a specific nonprofit organization that you support.

Once you, the donor, establish a designated fund, grants are made regularly to the nonprofits you've specified. The funding provides the nonprofit with a sustainable and dependable source of support. Funding is dependent on the amount in the fund and based on a schedule you create when the fund is established.

$10,000 is the minimum required balance. We manage funds as large as hundreds of millions.

Designated funds are great for donors who know exactly which nonprofits they would like to support and do not feel the need to be actively involved in grantmaking. Additionally, designated funds are favored by individuals and families who want to leave a legacy gift supporting specific nonprofits they care about, and for memorializing those who had a particular cause they were passionate about. Some nonprofits create designated funds benefiting themselves to allow us to handle the gift receipting and asset management.

Yes. You can be as specific as you wish in your fund agreement. For example, you may name a specific program or aspect of a nonprofit’s operations, such as building maintenance, staff training, etc., or you may specify to provide general operating support. Designated funds can also specify that they are never to be used for a specific aspect of a nonprofit’s operations, such as capital improvements. Stipulations such as these must be written into the fund agreement.