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As we enter the holiday giving season this year, consider this: what type of philanthropic organization has been around for over 90 years, now numbers more than 600 strong in the United States, and exists to help generous individuals and families of all levels of wealth carry out their charitable dreams creatively, effectively and into perpetuity?
If you said “community foundations,” you are right on the money! And, what better way to start utilizing this community resource than around the holiday season?
The first community foundation was formed in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1914. Today, community foundations are one of the fastest-growing forms of philanthropy in the country.
The nation's community foundations hold $30 billion in assets and distribute nearly $2 billion in grants to nonprofit organizations in their communities each year. Community foundations are local charitable entities that may administer a number of funds primarily for local purposes to solve community or regional problems and to improve the lives of people in their geographic area.
Community foundations also often serve as a neutral convener, bringing diverse opinions and players together for the good of the whole community.
Here in Maryland, almost every county and municipality is served by one of our state's 10 community foundations, which are young by national standards but are growing fast. Maryland's first, the Baltimore Community Foundation, was created in 1972, while The Mid-Shore Community Foundation was founded in 1992.
The 10 community foundations include Mid-Shore Community Foundation, located in Easton; Baltimore Community Foundation, Baltimore; Community Foundation of Carroll County, Westminster; Community Foundation of Washington County, Hagerstown; Community Foundation of the Chesapeake, Annapolis; Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore, Salisbury; The Community Foundation of Frederick County, Frederick; The Columbia Foundation, Columbia; The Prince George’s Community Foundation, Columbia Heights and The Montgomery County Community Foundation, Silver Spring.
Though these foundations range in age and size, together they hold assets of $186 million and pump over $23 million into the state's nonprofit sector annually.
Civic Savings Accounts
Community foundations administer collections of charitable funds created for a variety of purposes by individuals, families and corporations.
For donors, community foundations function like a philanthropic mutual fund, offering economies of scale and built-in grantmaking and administrative staff to support donors' giving plans.
For the communities they serve, these foundations act as a civic savings account, since many of the funds they hold are designed to be permanent, generating an ongoing stream of revenue to the nonprofit sector.
Community foundations are logical partners to tax and estate attorneys, accountants, and other advisors working to help their clients achieve their financial and charitable goals. Because community foundations are public charities supported by donors from across the community, all contributions are allowed the maximum tax benefits.
By far, the most popular community foundation vehicle today is the donor-advised fund. Likened by some to a miniature family foundation, a donor-advised fund can be established easily by making a gift to establish the fund.
Then the donor and her/his designees can work with the community foundation's staff, making recommendations as to how the fund is to be spent in grants to non-profit organizations.
In addition, the grantmaking and administrative staff of the community foundation are available to donors. But community foundations are more than donor-advised funds.
Community foundations also hold funds donated as the legacies of farsighted citizens who understand that the needs of their beloved community will change, and that community foundations are well-positioned to direct the use of their charitable funds wisely and well into the future.
“Mid-Shore Community Foundation has continued its strong growth record over fiscal years 2004 and 2005, increasing from $15.8 to $26.1 million in net assets and adding 58 new charitable funds” says F. Graham Lee, president. “The Foundation and its donor-advised funds have distributed over $1.2 million in grants these two fiscal years. We partner with those who wish to make a difference in our five county region.”
Celebrate the spirit of giving this holiday season by organizing your giving through your local community foundation, Mid-Shore Community Foundation. What a wonderful and lasting gift for you, your family, and for the non-profits in the community that are doing such important work for the community!
Mid-Shore Community Foundation (MSCF) is located in the historic Bullitt House, 102 East Dover Street, Easton, MD 21601 and serves Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s, and Talbot Counties, Maryland. For more information on creating a donor-advised fund or establishing a non-profit agency endowment with MSCF, please call 410/ 820-8175. Their web site can be viewed at www.mscf.org.
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Buffy Beaudoin-Schwartz is the Communications Director at the Association of Baltimore Area Grantmakers (ABAG), the region’s premier resource on philanthropy, dedicated to informing grantmakers and improving our community. ABAG members include representatives of more than 130 private foundations and corporations with strategic, ongoing grantmaking programs, and is the home of the Maryland Community Foundations Initiative. She can be reached at: bbschwartz@abagmd.org; www.abagmd.org
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