What is a Community Foundation?
A community foundation is a collection of individual funds and resources given by local citizens to enhance and support the quality of life in their community.
Such a foundation is a tax exempt public (as opposed to private) charity that allows individuals, through gifts and bequests, to establish permanent endowment funds under the umbrella of one foundation. Income generated by these funds is distributed to the community in the form of grants to other nonprofit organizations and agencies to address needs and opportunities.
Piedmont Community Foundation (PCF) was established in 1999 to provide simple, flexible, and effective ways for permanent endowment funds to be set up and managed. The foundation works with donors to help achieve their financial and philanthropic goals and to establish endowments for a variety of purposes.
PCF is one of over 700 community foundations nationwide (1400 internationally). It is a member of the Council on Foundations. Community Foundations are the fastest growing vehicle for giving in the United States.

What are PCF's accomplishments to date for the community?
Starting from “an idea” in 1999, PCF has provided more than $800,000 to the community, and is growing permanent endowment in partnership with donors who have established 21 funds.

What is the difference between setting up a private foundation and the benefits of creating a donor advised fund at PCF?
Creating a private foundation subjects the donor to a number of regulatory requirements, such making an exemption application to the IRS, as well as ongoing administrative and fiduciary responsibilities, reduced charitable deductions, required annual distributions and a lack of privacy. PCF makes philanthropy easy. We are a public charity; the regulations, taxes, distribution and administrative requirements to establish and manage a private foundation do not apply to us.
View a comparison overview of PCF and Private Foundations and a list of the Practical Operational and Economic Benefits

Why give through PCF?
If you wish to support the local community, it can be difficult to know how to choose which organizations to support. Needs of communities can change and what is important now in a community might not be in 20 years. PCF can establish a permanent, independent and flexible source of local funds, which can respond to changing community needs - now and in the future.
Another advantage of giving through PCF includes the prudent management and pooling of funds. Responsible administration and personalized funds can offer donors the benefits of their own fund without the burden and expense of management.

Why should I make my contributions to PCF with a Donor Advised Fund rather than make donations directly?
It's simple - You centralize your charitable donations by setting up a Fund. This eliminates the need to track multiple receipts for your donations and simplifies your tax filing. You can enjoy the flexibility of recommending grants to your favorite charities now, next year or whenever you are ready. There will no longer be a need to rush to write checks at year end for tax purposes.
It's satisfying. You can leave a legacy by naming your own fund or you can choose to remain anonymous. You are also able to involve family members in your charitable giving decisions. And you may choose successor advisors to continue what you have started.

What is an endowment?
An endowment is a fund whose contributions are expected to remain intact as a source for permanent funding. An endowed fund “furnishes income” through investment earnings which support ongoing charitable distributions to public tax exempt organizations or other charitable purposes. The principal is preserved to off-set inflation by limiting grants to no more than 5% of the fund balance per year.

Where does PCF get its operations funding?
Funding comes from modest administration fees (typically one percent - one cent per dollar) on named funds as well as from generous supporters of our operations.

Are gifts to PCF tax deductible?
Yes. PCF is recognized as a 501(c)(3) public tax-exempt organization and contributions are deductible to the fullest extent permitted by law.
View an overview of PCF tax benefits.

How are funds invested and administered?
A diversified investment portfolio is managed by professional investment managers. Investment guidelines emphasize the protection of corpus with the generation of income. The PCF investment committee is responsible for investments under the guidelines of the PCF Investment Policy which seeks total return with moderate risk over the long term. A copy of the Investment Policy and who serves on the current Investment Committee is available upon request. The Board of Directors reviews investment performance quarterly.

Does PCF charge an investment fee?
The portfolio composite of mutual funds does not charge a separate management fee; each fund within the portfolio has its own internal fees and expenses listed in the fund’s prospectus which can be disclosed upon request.

How does PCF differ from United Way?
It has been suggested that United Way is more like a community checkbook, raising and distributing money annually while a community foundation is more like a savings account, distributing income from long term funds in perpetuity. A community foundation's reach is beyond that of United Way which concentrates on health and human services.

Who manages PCF?
A Board of Directors has responsibility for the governance of the foundation. PCF also employs an experienced executive director who is able to give assistance or answer questions at any time and who manages day to day operations.

How does PCF work with the community?
We collaborate with the community to meet present and emerging needs.

Who can donate and what donations can be accepted?
We can work with any donor and accept a wide variety of donations of cash, properties, stocks and bonds - of significant or modest means. A Gift Acceptance Policy guides all gift transactions. PCF's permanence makes it ideally suited to receive bequests as well.

How does a gift keep giving?
Giving through PCF means that you can give back to the community through permanent income-earning endowment funds. The permanence of endowment means your gift can last for generations because such gifts work towards building a corpus of funds - money retained in perpetuity. The funds are pooled and invested, with the return on investment used to make grants to support a wide range of local initiatives. This way, the original donation becomes a constantly growing source of funding.

What do I receive for the approximate one percent management fee?
PCF takes care of all administration from grant management, preparation of 990's, governance, fund accounting and maintenance of tax exempt status.

May I designate where my charitable monies will go?
All donors decide how their gift is to be used at PCF at the time the gift is given. Through a donor advised fund you retain the right to make recommendations for your specific charitable interests. Donors who are not advisors may still have funding restrictions and PCF follows those. PCF is here to advise you in any way possible so that you have the satisfaction of knowing that you and your dollars are giving to qualified charitable organizations in the community as you envision.

How much is needed to establish a donor advised or other named fund?
The minimum is $10,000.
Click to see the range of options for setting up a fund.

Does it require a contribution of $10,000 or more to make a gift to PCF?
There is no minimum. Any amount may be added to existing funds.

Can the capital be used from an endowment?
The philosophy behind community foundations is to build a capital base so that, in time, the return on investment is able to meet emerging needs within the community. Certainly it can take time to build a sufficient base from which to fund projects. It is also possible that portions of capital may be used to fund vital projects or to enable further and significant generation of funds.

Does PCF compete with other charitable organizations?
PCF is not like other local charitable organizations. We apply our funds to a wide range of community needs in contrast to most charitable organizations that exist to support the needs of a single cause. Of most importance is the fact that PCF exists to enhance the ability of other nonprofit organizations to serve the changing needs in our community over time.

If we have been unable to answer your question here, please contact our office or send us an email with your specific question. 540-687-5223 • info@piedmontcf.org

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