TYPES OF FUNDS

Community Funds - A donor may leave a gift in any amount to the General (or Community) Fund. Earnings on this fund are used regularly at the discretion of the Community Foundation directors to support charitable activities in our communities.

Field of Interest Funds - A donor may leave a gift in any amount to one of several “field of interest funds.” A gift to the Jennifer Phillips Memorial Fund will support children and infants.  A gift to the Youth Endowment Fund will support projects for young people.  There is a Seniors Project Fund; an Administrative Endowment Fund (for people who want to support the work of the Foundation) and funds to support the environment and cancer relief. Grants from earnings on field of interest funds are always made to respect donors’ wishes, but specific projects are chosen at the discretion of the directors.

Donor Directed Funds - A donor may wish her/his gift to be managed by the Foundation in the interest of a specific charity.  The Foundation currently has funds whose earnings are dedicated to the Friends of the Gallery (Ferry Building Gallery), D.A.R.E., North Shore Rescue and specific scholarship funds.

Agency Funds - Often clubs, societies or “agencies” with funds to invest choose the West Vancouver Community Foundation to manage their endowments.  They know that the Foundation will invest their money carefully in the interest of the community.  We currently manage funds for the West Vancouver United Church.

Funds have been set up at the West Vancouver Community Foundation and other foundations for many reasons.  Here are some examples:

A Memorial Fund

You may want to preserve the memory of a loved-one or dear and valued friend by setting up a fund in the name of the person who has passed away.  Other friends who valued that person can also be asked to contribute to the fund.  The income from this fund can be used to support community needs or the fund may be dedicated to a field of interest that would have pleased that person.

A Family Fund

You may wish to establish a family fund to support the general purposes of the Foundation, or to support a particular area of interest in the community. The endowment could be augmented on special occasions such as birthdays or anniversaries.

A Scholarship Fund

You may want to set up a scholarship fund in your name or in honour of someone else so that deserving young people can get an education or training they might not otherwise receive.

A Flow-through Fund

If you prefer to provide for the distribution of a fund’s entire principal to designated organizations, the fund is a non-permanent designated fund.  We suggest the use of such flow-through funds as a convenient alternative for honoring significant annual pledges and individual requests.  Such funds can be promptly passed through the Foundation to any number of qualifying tax-exempt organizations in the same manner as the income of the Foundation’s permanent designated funds.  The advantage to donors is that they obtain an immediate tax deduction when the gift is made to the Foundation, while distribution to designated beneficiaries can occur at a future date.  At that time, full acknowledgement of the donor’s gift is made to the designated organizations or the donor may wish to remain anonymous and the gift will be made as such.

A Corporate Fund

You may find it advantageous to set up a fund in the name of your corporation or business as a vehicle for its community giving. As corporations are inundated with requests from charitable organizations, a gift to the Foundation can eliminate the work and time of choosing which to support from among many worthy causes. While yearly contributions to a company fund may be uneven due to fluctuation in profit, distributions can be held at a consistent level.

A Retiring Chairman and/or C.E.O. Fund

A business or corporation can honour a retiring Chairman and/or CEO by establishing a fund in that person’s name.  The income from this fund can be directed to a particular organization or field of interest of the Chairman and/or C.E.O.  The establishment of such a fund would not only honour in perpetuity, the corporate contribution of such an individual, but would also enhance the profile of the corporation within the community.

A Private Foundation

Should you be a Trustee or Director of a private foundation, you and your colleagues may find administering the fund and fulfilling the granting procedures too time consuming or onerous given the size of your fund.  A fund in the name of your foundation can be set up within the West Vancouver Community Foundation.  Your private foundation arranges to move your assets to this new fund and then dissolves your old foundation.

It is important to note that the foundation in question maintains its identity.  In fact, if the Trustees or Directors desire, the name of the foundation and its good works may receive even broader attention because they are included in the Foundation’s Annual Report and all literature announcing the grants that are made.