Making your giving count
Making a difference in your community starts here
Giving to your local community can be a hugely rewarding experience. There's a unique sense of satisfaction in knowing that you are making a real difference to the lives of others, especially close to home.
But with generosity comes responsibility. Because the more you give, the more important it is to make the right choices; to ensure that your money achieves maximum impact in the areas that matter most to you.
And that's harder than ever these days, when there are literally hundreds of charities and community groups out there, all competing for your attention. There are over 182,000 charities and 900,000 plus community groups. Community foundations fund over 26,000 community groups a year, so are well placed to help prospective donors.
Setting up a fund with a community foundation opens up exciting new opportunities for making a real difference with your giving. It's simple, flexible and the benefits are clear.
The first step is to meet with your local community foundation and discuss what you want to achieve with your giving and how it should be structured.
As one fund-holder said, "having a fund at my community foundation keeps me young and alert, and in touch with what's going on in the community".
Tools to help you with your giving
You might want to think about the approach to giving that suits you best. Try our Philanthropy Wheel© - it will help you think through the kind of impact you want to have.
There are a variety of fund options available. Staff will guide you through a diverse range of choices, depending on whether you wish to give in the short or long term (or both). Contributions of all sizes are welcome, but you may wish to consider setting up a fund.
If it's important to you not just to give, but to give effectively, your local community foundation is here to help.
Community foundation expertise
Community foundations exist for you to make a difference locally. They offer customised philanthropic advice and grant portfolio development, and will often work with you over a series of meetings to help you identify a giving strategy that suits your charitable needs.
Once your fund is up and running, it's up to you how much involvement you want. But, hands-on or hands-off, you can rely upon the community foundation's in-depth local knowledge to ensure that your money will go to organisations and projects whose work has been thoroughly assessed for its value to the community (some of which you would probably never discover without them).
What's more, the foundation will continue to monitor recipients of grants on your behalf, and keep you informed of their progress. If you wish, you can genuinely engage with the causes you care about.
Meanwhile, professional investment managers will be applying their expertise to build the value of your fund. And we'll provide you with information on tax-efficient giving, ensuring that every penny which goes into your fund is used to the best possible effect.
Charges for funds and donations
Community foundations charge fees for the philanthropy advice, fund management and grant-making services they provide. Because a client benefits from drawing on a pool of services within the community foundation, fees and charges are highly competitive.