Nonprofit organizations wishing to establish a fund at the Foundation benefit from professional investment management. The purpose of an agency fund is to provide sophisticated investment options for operating reserves or endowments with periodic distributions back to your organization. The oversight we provide allows nonprofits to spend less time on investment management and place greater focus on what’s truly important—fulfilling your organization’s mission.
The How and Why of Endowed vs Non-Endowed
An endowed fund is a permanent fund. The assets are managed with the goal of preserving and growing the principal in perpetuity. Only the “spendable amount” is available for distribution each year to the nonprofit. The spendable amount is a percentage calculated against the fund’s average balance. Our Board of Directors sets the spending rate or percentage for the Foundation’s endowed funds; currently, the spending rate is 4.0% on all endowed funds.
Nonprofit organizations should choose an endowed fund only if they wish to preserve the principal of the fund for the future. A minimum gift and fund balance of $50,000 is required to establish an endowed fund at the Foundation.
Alternatively, a non-endowed fund is not a permanent fund. The full balance of the fund – principal and income – are available for distribution each year to the nonprofit. Non-endowed funds allow the nonprofit organization maximum flexibility in the amount of grant distributions from the fund. A minimum gift and fund balance of $10,000 is required to establish a non-endowed fund at the Foundation.
The Donor Portal
Nonprofits who open agency funds at the Foundation have access to our convenient online portal. The portal offers your organization easier access to fund information, including the ability to view fund statements online. And the newest feature for agency funds – you can request grant distributions online!
Only the Authorized Contact associated with this email address has the ability to submit grant requests through the Donor Portal. You can update the Authorized Contacts for your organization easily and this will prevent delay in processing your grant request. Forms to change Authorized Contacts and request distributions are also available on the Donor Portal.
Nonprofits who open agency funds receive quarterly fund statements showing contributions, distributions, earnings and the balance of the agency fund. You can expect these statements in mid-February, mid-May, mid-August, and mid-November. Learn more about agency funds here.
Need assistance on using the system to process grant requests? We have a video tutorial here that you can watch using the access passcode:+95GKFE$ .