If you choose to set up your own fund at the Foundation, you make an irrevocable gift. You choose the fund’s name and its purpose, which the Foundation will carry out in perpetuity.
Forever. If you set up a fund now to benefit the XYZ Library, the Foundation will continue to make grants to that organization as long as it exists. If it ceases to exist, the Foundation will apply the fund to the closest similar organization.
The Foundation invests your gift as part of our endowment pool. Because the value of our assets is considerable, the Foundation attracts some of the country’s top-performing money managers. We aim to protect and grow the principal of your gift. Our growth target each year is inflation plus 5%. But that is a minimum. Any investment returns in excess of grants and fees are added to the fund you established.
Donor advised funds are extremely popular. With a donor advised fund, you stay actively involved and each year recommend how to distribute grants from your fund. But we offer several choices (see types of funds, previous page). Based on your needs and interests, we can help you decide what type of fund is best, and if it is appropriate to establish a fund now, through your will, or through other planned giving strategies. Many donors begin funds during their lifetimes, then add to the funds upon their deaths.
These funds are similar in some respects to the Foundation's donor advised funds. But there are important differences. Commercial gift funds confine themselves to simple due diligence, assuring that a charity is IRS-compliant. The Rhode Island Foundation offers extensive research services to its donors, to help you find just the right charities. If you tell us, for instance, that you want to do something about teen pregnancy, we'll help you identify the state’s most innovative, most successful program to invest in. In fact, we invite donors to co-fund projects with us to extend the reach of our grantmaking dollars even further in Rhode Island. Maybe the biggest difference is this: The Rhode Island Foundation is in business to help the community. Commercial gift funds are in business primarily to manage money and profit from fees.
Cash is great, but almost any asset of appreciated value can be transferred to the Foundation; we will convert it into cash. Many donors give appreciated securities (stock that has risen in value) to maximize their tax benefits. You also can earmark IRAs or pensions to the Foundation. Or even purchase life insurance that names The Rhode Island Foundation as the beneficiary.
In most cases, our minimum is $10,000; it is $25,000 for a donor advised fund. You can support The Fund for Rhode Island or any of our six cause-related funds (for education, health, arts & culture, community & economic development, health, and human services) at any giving level.
In some cases, you can make a pledge and pay your gift over time. You can name the Foundation in your will or trust to receive a portion of your estate when you're gone. Or, you can choose a giving vehicle that will provide income to you or a loved one, and then create an endowment fund here after death. And of course, we welcome your gift of any amount to any of the more than 1,200 permanent funds listed on the following pages.
Contact the Development Department at (401) 274-4564, check out the "Donors" section of
www.rifoundation.org, and/or request your free copy of A Guide for Donors.