Acting Locally
People who give locally can experience the satisfaction of knowing and seeing for themselves how their gifts are put to work and what the results are. They are less reliant on ratios, interpreting 990s, and third-party evaluations.
Local needs are great. Parts of Brookline shares urban needs with Boston, but many Boston foundations do not to make grants outside the city, so charitable resources applied here in Brookline make a tremendous difference.
Gifts here have visible impact. Donors have many opportunities to see first-hand how gifts affect their neighbors. There are many volunteer opportunities in Brookline, and the Community Foundation can assist your clients in connecting with causes that interest them and their families.
Working with the community foundation, or using a commercial gift fund? We offer knowledge of local giving opportunities and local needs that no commercial fund can match. Donors are not restricted to local grants from donor-advised funds. Modest fees support the foundation in providing services to the donor's own community: a gift within a gift!
Creating a fund in the Brookline Community Foundation
Once your client has decided to create a fund at BCF, this list of questions and answers will allow advisors to provide necessary information for the creation of a client's fund and for preparation of the fund agreement letter that provides direction to the Foundation.
How much will be given to the Brookline Community Foundation? Will my gift allow me to create and name a fund? A minimum of $10,000 is required to establish and maintain a fund. We recommend a $25,000 minimum before grantmaking begins.
What type of fund will it be? Who will make the grantmaking decisions? Will the beneficiaries be defined in advance? If a donor-advised fund, will there be successor advisors named? There are many options. Donors need to decide whether their fund is to be established as a:
- Named Fund within the Discretionary Funds - a name of your choosing may be given to endowments of $10,000 or more. These funds support the Foundation's general grantmaking and purposes and provide the greatest flexibility in providing for Brookline's future.
- Field of Interest Fund - a name of your choosing may be given to endowments of $10,000 or more. These funds support specific but still broad Foundation purposes and provide some flexibility in providing for Brookline's future.
- Agency Fund - to provide endowed funds for the long-term benefit of specific agencies.
How will spending from the fund be determined? Except for donor-advised funds, and some agency funds, funds are typically governed by the Foundation's spending policy that calls for a total payout within the range of 4%-4.75%. This level of spending from a fund's total value allows the Foundation to make grants, pay the fund's expenses and administrative costs, and still increase principal over time.
How will the fund be named? A fund may be named for the donor, in honor or in memory of someone of the donor's choosing, or it may be named for the field of interest - the possibilities are many.
Can additional gifts be made over time? All Foundation funds are "open" to additional gifts from the original donor or from others. There are rules, however, if public fundraising is to be conducted, to protect the validity of charitable deductions for individual donors and to protect the Foundation. Contact staff for details.
I'm ready to get started - what do I do now? Determine which assets will be used (cash and publicly traded securities are the easiest ways to make charitable gifts), at what level you wish to give, and make arrangements to transfer assets to the Foundation.
For gifts of securities, please call the Foundation, at 617-566-4442.
Answers to these questions will be incorporated into a straightforward fund agreement and prepared for signature by the donor(s).