Resources & Tools for Giving
- Charitable Instruments
- Charitable Gift Annuity
- Charitable Lead Trust
- Charitable Remainder Trust
- Gifts of Appreciated Stock
- Choosing Community over Taxes
- Gifts through Life Insurance
- Gifts of Real Estate
Brochures
View our Donor Services Guide, which includes information on the various types of funds offered by the Community Foundation, as well as ways to give. This brochure is a simple, easy way to help your clients understand the services that can be offered through the Community Foundation as you work with them on giving options. Our Legacy Society Guide is a great resource for clients considering a planned gift that can benefit one, or many areas of interest through the Community Foundation.
Blank Fund Agreements
Donor-Advised Funds
These are funds established by donors who want to stay involved in how the distributions are made. The donor is informed annually of what’s available to spend in their fund, and they make recommendations of what charities should receive a grant and how much the grant should be. These funds do not go through the grant screening committee process.
Designated Funds
These funds are started by a donor for the benefit of specific charitable agencies. The donor may designate that one charity or multiple charities would be the beneficiaries of grants annually. The donor may request that a payment be made to the charity automatically every year or require the agency to request a distribution when they need it. The donor may set up the fund so that it can be used for anything the agency board deems appropriate or they may set it up so that it can only be used for certain things. These funds do not go through the grant screening committee process.
Field of Interest Funds
These funds are established by donors who want to support a broad field of interest such as the arts, education, the environment, or healthcare, to name a few. The grant screening committee makes recommendations for grants to be distributed from these funds.
Scholarship Funds
These funds are created to award scholarship payments for the benefit of students from northeast Michigan.
Unrestricted Funds
These funds are incredibly important for addressing our communities' most pressing needs, and can help make a significant impact for our region. These are created by donors who want the Community Foundation to make the determination of how their grants should be awarded each year. Though the direction of the money is "unrestricted", these funds may also hold a family/donor's name.
Agency Funds
These funds are established by nonprofit agencies for their needs. Their board makes recommendations for grants from the fund. These funds may be set up to fund anything their board deems appropriate or for specific needs. These funds do not go through the grant screening committee process. Donors may choose to give a gift directly to a particular agency's already exisiting fund.