Donor Advised Funds

A popular, flexible, and easy way to support the organizations, causes, and issues you care about, now and in the future.

You can make contributions to your fund at any time and take a tax deduction for the year in which gifts are made. You can then recommend grants from your fund at any time to nonprofits you choose. A Donor Advised Fund may be created by an individual, family, group, business, or nonprofit organization.

How it Works:

  1. You make an irrevocable contribution of assets.
  2. You receive the maximum tax deduction that the IRS allows.
  3. You name your DAF account, advisors, and any successors or charitable beneficiaries.
  4. Your contribution is placed into a DAF account where it can be invested and grow tax-free.
  5. At any time afterward, you can recommend grants from your account to qualified charities.

Interested in opening a Donor Advised Fund?

Contact us today

Frequently Asked Questions

The minimum contribution to establish an endowed fund at MCF is $25,000, or $100,000 for scholarship funds. This may be donated in a single lump sum or cumulatively over five years. For charitable organizations that establish both an Agency and a Designated fund, the balance of the two funds can be combined to meet the required minimum contribution.

An endowment is a fund held in perpetuity for charitable benefit. As the fund grows, returns are used to support the designated beneficiary organization, field of interest, etc. An endowment can be funded by a variety of assets such as cash, property or securities. Learn more.

All endowed funds are pooled and invested in MCF’s managed pooled portfolio. This pool of funds is managed by independent investment managers selected by and under supervision of the MCF Investment Committee. See more about our investments.

Community Impact Fees are the fees associated with managing funds. All fees are established and reviewed by the MCF Board and are kept as low as possible to maximize a fund’s charitable giving power. Please refer to the Investments and Financials Page to see our Fee Schedule.

The fund representative is the official point of contact for MCF in all matters relating to the fund. The representative is appointed at the time a fund is established, and he/she may appoint a new or successor representative at any time by notifying MCF in writing.

Payments to beneficiaries of endowed funds are made annually in March. Fund representatives may choose to reinvest all earnings, after payment of fees, in order to build principal. To change a fund’s status to re-invest, the fund representative must notify MCF by December 31 prior to the distribution cycle. No distributions are made until the fund reaches the required minimum contribution amount.

MCF's online portal provides you with 24/7 access to your fund account at MCF. Fund statements are available and show a summary of endowment fund activity for the previous year, including detailed information on contributions, distributions, fees and total returns.

Meet "Pee Wee" Anderson

The L.P. and Theresa Anderson Endowment Fund, a Donor Advised Fund at MCF, honors the legacy of "Pee Wee" Anderson and his wife, Theresa, while continuing to support Custer County and the surrounding area through grantmaking.

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