INNOVATIVE ways to give back

By Celeste Edenloff Alexandria Echo Press

The Alexandria Area Community Foundation helps donors connect to causes they care about. Since 1992, the foundation had been providing innovative ways for area residents and businesses to give back to their community.

Also, as a valued partner of CommunityGiving, the Alexandria Area Community Foundation provides grants for capital campaigns, programs and other projects that improve the quality of life in the Alexandria area, according to its website.

A.J. Koewler, executive director for the Alexandria Area Community Foundation, said there are several different types of funds people can choose from when they decide to donate.

She provided information about setting up a fund from the foundation’s website.

To create a fund, donors can use a variety of assets – from appreciated stock to real estate to cash – to make gifts. They may give to any of the existing specialty funds or create their own named fund.

There are nearly as many different funds at CommunityGiving as there are donors, since each fund may be customized to meet a particular charitable goal. Donors may choose from the following general types of funds when making a gift to the Alexandria Area Community Foundation:

► A fund designed to endow one or more specific charities is a designated fund. If a charity changes its mission or type of services, or goes out of business, CommunityGiving directs grants to a similar organization. In this way, the donor supports the organizations he or she chooses, but ensures that the gift will remain relevant over time.

► A donor advised fund allows you to participate directly in the grantmaking process by making recommendations for grants to specific organizations from the fund. A donor advisor also may work closely with the staff of CommunityGiving to select grant recipients.

► If you wish to establish a fund for a specified, broad purpose, a field of interest fund is the appropriate choice. Donors with particular issues of concern (children’s services, the environment, or improving access to health care by the poor, for example) may focus their giving by setting up this type of fund. CommunityGiving then makes grants to meet current needs in the specified field.

► A donor may establish a scholarship fund to honor a loved one or simply as a way to assist young people with their education.

► Agency funds are established by nonprofit agencies that appreciate a community foundation’s fund management expertise. Some funds are permanent endowments, while others serve as a type of reserve fund for the charities. CommunityGiving currently holds agency funds for a variety of organizations including schools, churches, and a wide range of non-profit agencies.

► A corporate advised fund allows a company to create a charitable fund from which the company may recommend distributions for charitable purposes. We work with companies of all sizes to make their charitable giving more efficient.

► The unrestricted fund is one of the most flexible ways to give, since it may be used for any purpose approved by the CommunityGiving’s Board of Directors. This fund allows the CommunityGiving and its partners to identify community needs and award grants designed to address those needs.

For more information, visit www.communitygiving.org/AACF.