Types of Funds

Anyone can make a gift to the Foundation. Donors come from a variety of backgrounds with a common commitment to the community's well-being. Whether creating a named fund, contributing to an existing fund, making a gift in memory of a friend or loved one, or making an unrestricted gift to the Fund for Greater Manhattan, every person in the community can make a difference.

What is a Fund?

A fund is a separate trust with its own donors and its own philanthropic purpose. The funds held by the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation are invested and managed by the Investment Committee, a group of responsible professional institutional investors who live and work in the community. Solid and responsible investment strategies assure donors of the security of their funds. 

The Foundation has five major types of funds: Donor Advised, Designated, Agency, Field of Interest and Unrestricted. Funds within these major types may be:

Permanent Endowments - in which only the earnings are distributed to the community and the principal is never touched, ensuring that distributions will be made according to the donors' wishes in perpetuity. 

Expendable Funds - meaning all of the principal and earnings may be distributed for charitable causes until the fund is depleted.

Agency Funds

Agency funds are established by nonprofit agencies to provide operating support for their program(s). Anyone may contribute to any of these funds. Checks should be made to the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation with a notation on the memo line naming the agency of choice.

Designated Funds

Donors often wish to provide ongoing support to a favorite agency or charitable cause. In such instances, a designated fund at the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation can provide charitable support, professional management and grant monitoring.

Donor Advised Funds

With a donor advised fund the donor and his or her heirs may choose to recommend grants for a different charitable purpose each year. This type of fund provides great flexibility to the donor while avoiding the costs and demands of a private foundation.

Field of Interest Funds

A donor who has no preference for a particular charitable organization may establish a named fund in a general area of interest such as arts, youth services, health or other interest. He or she may suggest grant recipients, or may ask the Foundation to make grants to the most appropriate programs within that specific of area. Donors can also pool their gifts together into a common fund that will generate perpetual support for a shared area of interest. Income from these funds is then distributed to agencies and programs working within each fund's scope of interest.

Unrestricted Funds

With our ever-changing community needs and priorities, it is the unrestricted gift that is the most valuable and enduring for a community. Unrestricted funds are for donors who have broad community interests but no specific priorities. These funds provide the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation the most flexibility in directing resources toward challenges and opportunities in our community.

Scholarship Funds

Scholarship funds support those who want to pursue education, whether they're high school graduates pursuing a college degree, young athletes seeking assistance with additional training or nontraditional students who are returning to the work force. Fund holders work with Foundation staff to devise selection criteria. 

Fund Agreement Form