Quick Links

Community Funds
Scholarship Funds
Designated Funds
Field of Interest Funds
Endowment Funds
Donor Advised Funds
Administrative Funds                                                                                                                      Acorn Funds

One of the advantages of a community foundation is that it provides a vehicle for all citizens to contribute to the betterment of their own community. This means that gifts of all sizes are encouraged, appreciated, and important. Gifts of any size may be made to any of the foundation’s existing funds.

One can either contribute to an existing fund or create a new fund. With gifts of $5,000 or more, a donor has the opportunity to create a named fund.

The Bryan Area Foundation currently has the following Named Funds:  Click on Fund Name to read biography.

Eight different types of named funds are possible.                   

Community Funds
Gifts to the community endowment fund provide the most broad-based support to the community over the years.  Community funds are unrestricted so they provide the foundation’s trustees the most flexibility in grant making.  New opportunities and challenges await, and gifts to the community fund position the foundation to meet the emerging needs of our community.  Gifts to the community fund may be made in any amount.  Donors may wish to establish a “named” community fund with a gift of $5,000.

Scholarship Funds
Scholarship funds provide financial support for the continuing education of students. Organizations or individual donors specify the restrictions for eligibility (such as course of study, school the student will attend, or high school from which the student is graduating) within foundation guidelines.

Designated Funds
Designated funds provide financial support to a specific qualifying organization. Donors establish this type of fund when they want to provide a permanent income stream to a church, school, or other favorite charity.

Field of Interest Funds
Field of interest funds support a specific area of the donor’s concern, such as education, the arts, youth services, the elderly or the disabled. The foundation uses income from these funds to benefit programs or organizations within the field of interest.

Endowment Funds
Endowment funds are a form of a designated fund where the donor is a nonprofit agency or organization contributing funds to provide current income and long-term security for its operation.  Endowment funds may be established by either an individual donor or qualifying charitable organization. The Bryan Area Foundation has the unique ability to hold assets for a charitable organization in a named endowment fund and annually distribute a set percentage back to the not-for-profit organization to meet its needs.

Donor Advised Funds
Donor advised funds provide convenience and flexibility by enabling donors to support their favorite charities in both lean and profitable years through the foundation. A donor receives a tax deduction in the year in which the gift is made, and is able to suggest distributions to specific charities over a longer period of time. Donors often choose this kind of fund (as well as designated funds) to remember their alma maters, churches, and other favorite charities.

Administrative Funds
Administrative funds provide support for the ongoing operations of the Bryan Area Foundation.  

Acorn Funds                                                                                                                                        Acorn funds give individuals, families and organizations a simple and flexible way to build an endowment fund by allowing the donor to make consistent but smaller gifts to the fund over time.  The donor selects the permanent fund associated with the acorn fund at the time of the initial donation.

Back to Top