Funds Under Advisory Board Leadership

Your Affiliate may have one or more component funds, established to address the needs of your community and the charitable interests of donors in your community. All such funds are the property of the Quad Cities Community Foundation, which means that the Community Foundation has the responsibility of maintaining sole discretion and control over the investment, management, and use of funds consistent with the charitable purpose of each fund.

Please keep in mind that these Affiliate funds are not legally considered the property of the Affiliate, nor are others that may be referred to as part of your Affiliate’s “family of funds.” The latter are funds that were established by donors or nonprofit organizations within your Affiliate service area that have been “identified as part of the Affiliate’s family of funds.”

To comply with the law and with National Standards, we must be very clear that any gifts given to a component fund at the Community Foundation are the property of the Community Foundation. National Standards require that donors know this at the time of the gift.  Federal law also requires that donors know they are giving to the Community Foundation at the time of the gift, and that all gifts are irrevocable.

Each Affiliate fund will be established by the Community Foundation to benefit the geographic area served by the Affiliate and may consist of any of the following (“Affiliate Funds”):

Discretionary

Your Affiliate’s unrestricted discretionary endowment (and/or non-endowed fund) allows you to respond to the needs and opportunities in your community as they arise throughout the years.  These funds are  restricted for use in the geographic area covered by your Affiliate.  The use of these funds is discretionary at the advice and recommendation of your Affiliate Advisory Board.  These are the funds that can truly help you transform your community.

Learn more about Discretionary Grantmaking Approaches here.

Endowed Operating

Your Affiliate's operating endowment provides consistent annual support for the needs of operating your Affiliate. As with all endowments, an annual spendable amount is calculated based on the Community Foundation's spending policy. Your Affiliate may spend those funds, transfer them to the non-endowed operating fund, or allow all or part of them to return to the non-spendable portion of the fund to grow for the future.

Non-Endowed Operating Fund

Your Affiliate's non-endowed operating fund provides flexible support for the varying needs of operating your Affiliate, allowing you to fully expend the available dollars or save them for the future.

Project Fund

Project funds are non-endowed funds that may be created when a community wants to undertake a project that does not have tax-exempt status, and that community wants to provide a way for donors to make a tax-deductible contribution to that project. When the Community Foundation opens a project fund, it essentially commits to being a fiscal sponsor for that project and ensuring that all money granted from the fund to the project is spent charitably.

Your Affiliate may have one project fund at a time, for a project that is pre-approved by the Community Foundation. A project fund allows your Affiliate to collect money and contribute toward a project that has a charitable purpose, is clearly defined, is limited in duration, and is "transformational" for your community. The definition of what is transformational will be dependent on your community (Some examples might include a new community swimming pool, a bike path, or an expansion of a community center, etc.).

Iowa County Endowment Fund for Iowa County Endowment Affiliates

The County Endowment Fund is a state-funded program intended to encourage philanthropy in Iowa by providing financial assistance to foundations around the state. The money for the program comes from state's gaming tax revenues each year. The only county areas that are not eligible to receive County Endowment Funds are those counties that have a state-licensed gambling facility located within the county. Approximately .8 percent of the state's gaming tax revenues are allocated to support the County Endowment Fund Program.

Twenty-five percent of the funds received from the program are kept in a permanent endowment fund for the benefit of charitable organization within a county. The remaining 75 percent of the funds are to be distributed as grants for charitable purposes according to the law. No more that 5 percent of the available funding should be used for "philanthropic promotion" by an affiliate. This might include items like administrative purposes, board education, or outreach. If an Affiliate does want to use funds for those purposes, they are to fill out an application and go through the grantmaking process so there is accurate documentation regarding the proposed uses of the funds. This also ensures all funding requests are considered equally.