Berrien Community Foundation
Acorn Types of Giving
What Kinds of Funds Can Donors (Individuals, Couples, Families, Businesses, Nonprofit Organizations, etc.) Create?
Donors may specify the general or specific purpose(s) of their gifts in keeping with their charitable goals and interests, or contributions may be undesignated to be used by the Berrien Community Foundation where most needed. Either way, contributions to our communities made through the Berrien Community Foundation will have a lasting impact.

Donors may create the following fund types:
UNDESIGNATED FUNDS
These enable the Foundation to respond to changing community needs and emergencies, support the creation of innovative responses to community challenges, and enhance the quality of community life. Donors place no restrictions on how these funds are to be used, leaving those decisions to the Board of Trustees.

FIELD OF INTEREST FUNDS

These support a broad area of your concern, such as education, the arts, youth services, and those with special needs. The Foundation then makes grants to the most appropriate programs or organizations within the field of interest the donors have specified.

DONOR ADVISED FUNDS

Donors (individuals, couples, families, groups, businesses) create advised funds to participate in and maintain flexibility in fund distributions. Through these funds, donors may actively participate in grantmaking by making grant recommendations for organizations.

SCHOLARSHIP FUNDS

Donors established these funds to help students achieve their educational goals. Committees made up of a cross section of qualified individuals, objective criteria, and a selection process using these criteria are approved by the Board of Trustees and employed by the Foundation each year. No new scholarship funds are being accepted at this time. Advised funds are suggested as an alternative. 

 

ORGANIZATION FUNDS (Designated)

Nonprofit organizations (e.g., typical nonprofit, schools, school foundations, units of govt., religious organizations) establish endowment and other funds to provide for future funding of their organizations. A donor(s) may establish a fund where a specific nonprofit is designated to receive grants. The Foundation is then responsible for the fund from that point with no additional recommendations from the donor(s). For legacy endowment funds, a donor(s) establishes a fund that is funded via an estate gift and identifies several nonprofits to receive grants each year from the fund. The Foundation is then responsible for the fund from that point with no additional recommendations from the donor(s) families and/or related parties.

 

 

For more information, contact

Nanette Keiser, Ed.D., President

NanetteKeiser@BerrienCommunity.org

269-983-3486 or 269-983-3304, ext. 1

GIVING THROUGH THE FOUNDATION

BENEFITS OF GIVING

WHY WOULD I WANT TO CREATE A FUND?

WHAT ASSETS CAN I GIVE?

HOW WILL MY FUNDS BE INVESTED?

WHEN CAN I GIVE?

WHERE CAN I FIND ASSISTANCE?

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Berrien Community Foundation
2900 South State Street, Suite 2 East
St. Joseph, MI 49085
Phone: 269.983.3304
Fax: 269.983.4939
Email: bcf@BerrienCommunity.org