Supporting Organizations

High impact, high involvement, low hassle.

A Supporting Organization is an excellent alternative to a private foundation. You select some of the board members and support the causes you care about most, while enjoying the favorable tax treatment, immediate startup, and ease of administration associated with working through your community foundation.

You can have a great deal of control over your grantmaking without the burdens of operating a separate private foundation. You and future generations may appoint successor board members to help direct the Supporting Organization you establish and define its purpose and mission. Your contributions may yield a greater tax deduction than those made to a private foundation, and the Supporting Organization is not subject to other private foundation rules and regulations, such as paying an excise tax or making a minimum payout each year. Working through your community foundation, you have the choice of receiving recognition or remaining anonymous in your giving.

Several efficiencies preserve your charitable assets and allow you to make the impact you desire. The startup and administration is simple and allows your board to begin issuing grants right away. And through the years, your community foundation provides local grantmaking expertise, reporting services, and management of the Supporting Organization’s assets by investment professionals.

How it works:

• You make a gift to the community foundation — you can give cash, appreciated stocks, real estate, or other assets. We establish a Supporting Organization — a separate charitable entity — in your name, in the name of your family or business, or in honor of any person or organization you choose.
• You select up to 49 percent of your board of directors; the community foundation assigns the rest (so that you benefit from affiliation with a public charity).
• You receive tax benefits in the year your gift is made.
• Your board of directors recommends grants — working with our professional program staff — to support the causes and agencies you care about most. We issue grants to charities in the name of the Supporting Organization you establish (if you prefer, grants can be made anonymously).
• We handle all the administrative details.