Donor-Advised Funds

Overview
Many donors want to be actively involved with their charitable giving, but want the help of expert partners and managers.

By establishing a Donor-Advised Fund, you can recommend grants from your fund to qualified nonprofit organizations throughout the Greater Hartford region and across the country. Family members may advise jointly with you, and Hartford Foundation staff can help you choose grantees or structure grants. Your donor-advised fund can ultimately become a permanent family legacy for the community.

Thinking about starting a private (or family) foundation?

Consider your alternatives first. Click here to learn how Donor-Advised Funds compare with private foundations and other similar options.

Details
Donor-Advised Funds provide you as the donor with the greatest flexibility to meet your charitable goals. You receive a full tax deduction for an irrevocable gift, retaining the right to recommend grants to any nonprofit organization in the country from investment income, appreciation and/or the principal of the fund. Distributions are made in your fund’s name, and you receive bi-annual statements. You also have the right to name successor advisors to the fund.

But, the best reason to create a Donor-Advised Fund at the Hartford Foundation is to gain access to our program staff’s expertise about grantmaking and the region’s nonprofit community.

• The funds are simple to create.
• There are no start-up costs.
• Gifts to the funds are tax deductible at favored public charity rates.
• Donors make advisory grant recommendations; final review and approval rest with the Hartford Foundation.
• Administrative tasks (reporting, record keeping, correspondence, grant distribution and grant managing) are handled by the Hartford Foundation.
• While the grantmaking from a donor-advised fund needs to be anchored in the Greater Hartford region, grants can be made anywhere in the country.

Click here for more information about  Donor-Advised Funds.