Your Fund, Your Choices
Community Foundation Sonoma County administers over 450 funds that serve a wide variety of charitable purposes and reflect the intent of our donors.
Design Your Own Fund
Donor-Advised or Committee-Advised Funds
Our most common fund type, these are established by individuals, families, groups, or companies, allowing you to contribute assets and recommend grants at any time. This is a flexible, personalized way to support your favorite nonprofit groups in Sonoma County, elsewhere in the U.S., or anywhere in the world.
Organization Funds
Individuals or nonprofits can create this kind of fund for a specific nonprofit beneficiary. Nonprofit organizations can also establish this kind of fund as part of a fundraising strategy. Organization endowment funds are particularly valuable in assuring long-term financial stability and independence.
Fund Types
- Endowment funds are the backbone of our community impact work, providing support for present and future needs and opportunities in perpetuity. In essence, endowments are gifts that keep growing and giving. The principal is carefully invested and remains whole forever and a specified portion of the income (based on a “spending rule”) is used annually for grants.
- Expendable (non-endowed) funds permit grant distributions from the earnings or principal in any amount ($250 minimum grant) at any time. An expendable fund may be converted to an endowment [usually upon the death of the original donor(s)].
Leave the Grantmaking to Us
With a Community Impact Fund, our team will ensure that your gifts have the greatest possible impact on the issues your care about.
Our Endowed Funds
Stewarded by our Community Impact Team, these funds provide the major resources used by the Community Foundation to make discretionary grants. Funds are invested for the long term and provide an annual payout that ensures regular, on-going support for our annual grantmaking. Since needs and opportunities change, our ability to respond effectively is maximized by having flexible funds. Grants are made through our competitive grants process in broad fields of interest: e.g., Animal Welfare, Arts/Culture, Education, Environment, Health/Human Services, along with Basic Human Needs and Ending Family Homelessness.
Field-of-Interest Funds
With a significant investment, individuals may open endowment funds to support particular charitable interests. These funds provide the most long-term flexibility for the Community Foundation to address the changing needs and opportunities of our communities. These may be created or added to with future estate gifts. Grants are made by our Community Impact Team with the expertise and community knowledge to ensure that we are making the biggest possible impact.
Philanthropic Services Menu
Available to donors advisors with a fund at Community Foundation Sonoma County, our philanthropic services are here to help you deepen your philanthropy, so you can give knowing that your donations will make a difference on the issues that you care about all while supporting the community you love.
Schedule of Fees Charged to Donor-Advised Funds
Our administrative fees ensure that we can continue to offer the highest-rated service and expertise needed to make your giving impactful and straightforward. As a further investment in the community, our fees help sustain the foundation’s community impact and grantmaking and help cover the administrative costs related to grant processing, due diligence of all grantees, audit and tax filings, and investment performance and fund management.
For more information about our philanthropic services, please contact:
