Donor Advised Funds : What We Do : Oregon Trail Community Foundation

PO Box 1344

Scottsbluff, Nebraska 69361

Phone (308) 635-3393

Contact

Community foundations and donor-advised funds

A donor-advised fund is like a dedicated account for charitable giving—sponsored by a public charity (like the Oregon Trail Community Foundation!) —that enables donors to contribute to the fund, be eligible for an immediate tax deduction and recommend grants to any IRS-qualified charity.

Start a Donor Advised Fund!

Fund Agreement

Advantages of using a “Donor Advised Fund” rather than creating a private foundation:

Administrative costs are much less than a private foundation
A private foundation pays 2% tax; there is no tax on donor advised funds
Privacy; a Donor Advised Fund is not subject to public record
Each year, you may advise to whom, how much and when to give from your fund
You have some input as to investments in your fund and the asset allocation (how much stock and/or bonds)
You can name successors to carry on your charitable goals, which can include children, grandchildren and/or trusted advisers
You can donate cash, property or securities to your fund
You can form your fund now, or name it as a charitable beneficiary of your will, charitable trust, gift annuity, retirement plan or insurance policy

There are five basic ways to create a fund. Types of funds and a brief description of each follows:

Special Project: This type of fund is set up for a specific project. Usually the fund is used up when the project is done.
Long Term Endowment: With this type of fund, the original donation is invested and only income from those investments is used for the specified grants. Scholarship funds are a good example of this type of fund.
Operating Fund: These are usually on-going funds that support a particular project or organization. The person or organization that sets up the fund usually does an annual fundraiser. These types of funds are also donor advised since the organization advises OTCF as to which expenses and grants they wish to make out of the fund.
Pass Through: As the name implies, this type of fund is usually set up by an organization that is not a 501C-3 but who qualify for grants. An example would be the Riverside Soccer Fund, which is also a “donor advised” fund.
Donor Advised Fund: This is the type of fund most individuals, families or corporations set up. The donor(s) are able to advise the foundation as to where they want the money in their fund to go. It is understood that the grantees of this money must fall within IRS guidelines. Most of these funds are also an “endowment” type fund where the original donation is invested and only the income (or part of) is used for grants each year.

Our Impact - 2023

Funds Managed by OTCF

83
Community Grants Awarded

$111,312
Scholarships Awarded

$93,250
Net Assets

$11,575,643