LIQUID ASSETS: Cash, credit card, or publicly traded securities can easily be used to add philanthropic resources to a fund. A gift of appreciated securities provides you with an immediate charitable deduction for the full market value while avoiding capital gains taxes typically due upon sale. Click here for instructions.

Checks should be mailed to our new bank lockbox for secure collection and processing:
Greater Washington Community Foundation
PO Box 49010
Baltimore, MD 21297-4910

Please note this address is only for mailing gifts made via check. All other mail correspondence should be sent to our main office.

COMPLEX ASSETS: We accept gifts of closely held stocks, bonds, mutual funds, real estate, or other real assets. Contact us to explore your options. If you are 70.5 or older, an IRA charitable rollover (QCD) allows you to make a tax-free transfer of up to $100,000 each year directly to certain types of funds at The Community Foundation without taking the distribution as taxable income. Contact us for more information.

LEGACY GIFTS: You can make a gift to The Community Foundation through a bequest in a will or trust, beneficiary designation for retirement assets (IRA, 401K, 403B) or life insurance policies, or charitable remainder trust. To discuss planned giving options, please contact Rebecca Rothey at 202-955-5890 or rrothey@thecommunityfoundation.org. 

Yes, but only with pre-approval from The Community Foundation to ensure compliance with strict IRS requirements regarding fundraising on behalf of a component fund of The Community Foundation. We expect you to read and abide by the Funds that Fundraise Policy. Failure to do so could impact The Community Foundation’s reputation and tax‐exempt status, which are often used in fundraising activities for funds established within The Community Foundation. 

There are some types of activities to which The Community Foundation will not lend its name or that of any of its funds. These might include events involving controversial speakers or events with activities considered outside the standards of good taste. The Community Foundation, in its sole discretion, will determine the appropriateness of its participation or use of its name on a case‐by‐case basis.  

Yes! Our staff is highly knowledgeable about a wide variety of organizations and programs in our region. We are happy to discuss your charitable giving goals and provide recommendations for how best to achieve them. Depending on the scope of the assistance provided, your fund may be assessed an additional fee for advising services. We will work with you to figure out the best options based on your needs. If you would like to work with us to identity potential grant recipients, please contact Donor Services at 202-955-5890 or donorservices@thecommunityfoundation.org. You may also contact your donor services representative - see a full staff list here. 

You, or others you have named as fund advisors, may recommend grants from your fund at any time. You can submit a recommendation online through Donor Central. There is no limit to the number of recommendations you may submit each year.

Donor Central allows you to access your fund electronically to make grant recommendations, view your fund balance, track your fund activity, and download your fund statements. 

Once you’ve logged in to Donor Central, click on “Recommend a Grant” in the top navigation, then search for the organization with the optional parameters provided. If the organization is already in our system, then click on the “make a grant” button next to the name of the organization. If the organization is not in our system, click on “continue to a blank grant recommendation form.” Complete the information on the following page, click save, and hit submit on the next screen!   

If you do not already have a Donor Central account, please contact Donor Services at 202-955-5890 or donorservices@thecommunityfoundation.org, or contact your donor services representative.

The minimum grant allowed is $250.

Grants must be made to qualified charitable organizations: those defined as tax-exempt public charities under sections 501(c)(3) and 509(a)(1) of the IRS Code, such as nonprofit public charities, private schools and universities, and religious institutions. We encourage you to invest in the Greater Washington region, but you may suggest a grant to a public charity anywhere in the U.S.

Grants may be made for charitable purposes to non-qualified public charities or entities using enhanced due diligence and documentation requirements. In this situation, the minimum grant amount allowed is $5,000 and an additional one-time fee of $500.00 per grantee per project will be charged to your fund.

If you have a question about a specific organization, please contact our Grants Manager Kathy Matthews at (202) 263-4773 or kmatthews@thecommunityfoundation.org for more information.

Grants to international organizations that meet the same qualifications as 501(c)(3) organizations are permitted. However, we are required by the IRS to complete a more detailed due diligence review of foreign organizations before the grant is made. Thus, grant processing time may take several more weeks and additional fees will be charged to the fund making the grant request. Non-U.S. charities will be required to sign a written grant agreement and submit follow-up reports spelled out in the agreement.

Yes, you may use grants from your fund to fulfill a pledge. However, according to IRS rules updated in 2017, you may not inform us that this is the purpose for the grant. Your grant recommendation should simply state the institution/division receiving the grant. You should inform the institution separately of the grant’s purpose.

Yes. Multiyear grants are not pledge payments but rather a method to simplify administration. We can put your grant on a payment plan subject to the availability of funds. At the time of your recommendation, please indicate that you wish the grant to be made in increments and specify the timeframe. When the grant is initially approved by The Community Foundation, the entire grant amount will be applied against your fund balance. We will administer the distribution and payment schedule for you.

No. Donor-advised fund grants must go to organizations recognized by the IRS as public charities.  

No. Donor-advised fund assets are 100 percent charitable (gifts received by The Community Foundation receive the maximum tax advantages allowed by federal tax law), and no part of a grant may be used to pay for any tangible benefit. All grant letters indicate that the donor should not receive any benefit for the grant.

No. These are not permitted under IRS regulations.

No. IRS regulations do not allow this.

We want every charitable fund at The Community Foundation to be actively supporting charitable causes. If there are no grant recommendations from your fund, and no gifts into it, for three consecutive years, we will mark the fund as inactive. At that point, we will do our best to contact you at least three times. If we are unable to reach you, then our Board of Trustees will recommend that the fund balance be transferred to The Community Foundation’s endowment to support broad community needs.

Our endowment policy provides a relatively stable and predictable level of funding for grantees while recognizing the effects of market uncertainty and the potential impact of inflation. The spendable amount available for grantmaking is calculated annually by applying the spending rate, currently 5%, to the average of the fund’s principal value for the previous twelve quarters ending each March 31. The spendable amount will become available on July 1 and is available for grantmaking until June 30. The full amount available for grantmaking is not required to be distributed annually; any portion may remain in the investment pool for long-term growth and will be added to the fund’s principal balance.

You can name a successor advisor(s) to succeed you in making grant recommendations for your fund or designate your fund to benefit a particular organization, multiple organizations, or charitable area of your choice. To name a successor advisor(s), please complete and return the Fund Appointment Form. If there isn’t a named successor advisor or final purpose for a fund indicated in the fund agreement or in a Letter of Understanding, the fund will become part of The Community Foundation’s endowment to support charitable activity throughout the region and our general operations.

We are also happy to help you plan your charitable legacy, including information about how to name your fund as a beneficiary of your will or trust and how to structure the fund to fulfill your philanthropic objectives through endowment options, so your fund can continue to grant in perpetuity.  To learn more about our Charitable Legacy options and to join our Legacy Society, please contact Rebecca Rothey at rrothey@thecommunityfoundation.org or 202-955-5890.