Eau Claire Community Foundation Overview Brochure

YOUR CATALYST FOR CREATING

A BETTER FUTURE 306 S. Barstow St., Suite 104 Eau Claire, WI 54701 715.552.3801 | info@eccfwi.org www.eccommunityfoundation.org

MISSION We strengthen our community by offering donors opportunities to establish charitable legacies, by making grants, and by serving as a catalyst to address community needs.

VISION The Eau Claire Community Foundation will be widely recognized in the area as the leading community resource promoting philanthropy, collaboration and innovation, and building endowments.

Collaboration

Integrity

Impact

HISTORY Eau Claire is a wonderful community—due in large part to the hard work of many diverse nonprofits.

For years, the Hobbs Foundation provided a reliable source of financial support for these organizations.

Then, in 1995, it distributed its final grant, leaving the nonprofits scrambling to fill the funding void.

Leaders in the Eau Claire community saw the need for an organization that would work through other nonprofits without competing with them for funding. Catalyzed by an offer from a local couple— who offered a generous gift if a community foundation were created to serve the Eau Claire area—they formed a Board of Trustees.

The Board met in January 1997 and established the ambitious goal of recruiting 25 donors to join the foundation’s Society of Founders. They were encouraged to make unrestricted commitments of $10,000 or more without decreasing their previous philanthropic commitments.

It seemed like a lot to ask, but the people of Eau Claire didn’t just meet the goal—they exceeded it.

Over $1 million was contributed by 64 generous donors to make the Eau Claire Community Foundation a reality.

Thanks to the vision and generosity of the Society of Founders, local nonprofits can get the financial support they need to keep our community strong.

POWERFUL GIVING

Learn about the different types of funds ECCF offers donors.

Unrestricted • Allows ECCF to fund grants that meet the community’s most pressing needs.

• Honors a person, family, or business by making grants in their name.

• Flexibility leaves a valuable legacy of community impact.

Field of Interest • Allows donors to support a specific area of interest such as education, health, or the arts.

• ECCF Grants Committee matches the fund’s focus with relevant grant applications.

• Strengthens financial support for local nonprofits that focus on the chosen area.

Designated • Allows donors to support their favorite nonprofit organization, church or school forever.

• Can support one or more charities, even specific programs.

• If the chosen organization ceases to exist, ECCF will redirect the fund’s grants to an organization with a similar mission.

Donor Advised • Allows donors to recommend grants to their favorite nonprofits.

• Offers benefits similar to those of a private foundation without the burden and cost.

• Can involve family members in generational philanthropy.

Other Funds:

Agency, Designated Scholarship, Fiscal Sponsorship, Pass-Through

Over

Over

Over

275

$35

Million

Million Grants

Since Inception

Total Assets

Awarded Since Inception

Funds Opened

$18

GIVING IS EASY Each of ECCF’s more than 260 established funds is as unique as the donor who creates it, names it, and chooses its purpose. ECCF invests these funds in one of our four investment pools. Annually, a portion of each fund is used for making grants according to the wishes of the donor.

Type of Fund

Amount Needed for Funding

Unrestricted, Field of Interest, Designated, Agency Endowment

$500 to establish Minimum of $10,000 is required to begin granting

Designated Scholarship

$1,000 to establish Minimum of $15,000 is required to begin granting

Donor Advised

$1,500 to establish Minimum of $25,000 is required to begin granting

Pass Through

$10,000 to establish Minimum of $1,000 is required to begin granting

Donors can invest as little as $500 to establish an Acorn Fund.

Donors can build the Fund with tax deductible donations for up to five years to fully fund it. Once an Acorn Fund has become fully funded, it can begin granting but can still continue to accept donations forever.

If you prefer not to create a fund, consider donating to our Community Fund, which serves the greatest needs of the Eau Claire Community, and to our Operations Fund, which keeps ECCF strong.

ECCF monitors all grants to ensure that money is used according to the donors’ intent.

Fiscal Sponsorship Funds have more requirements. Contact ECCF for more information.

GIVING CATEGORIES

Create Culture

Form Futures

Supports programs and organizations that enhance the quality of life in our community through music, visual arts, performing arts, and museums.

Enhances learning opportunities for children and adults in the Eau Claire area.

Form Futures grants may also provide community development opportunities.

Give Green Supports programs that engage children and adults in activities that improve environmental quality or provide fitness, health, and wellness opportunities. It also includes support for animals and wildlife.

Offer Opportunities Provides children, adults, and families with basic needs such as food, shelter, clothing, health services, veterans’ programs and disability assistance.

ECCF has two annual grant cycles: • ECCF awards grants to Eau Claire area nonprofits whose proposals meet the community’s most pressing needs.

(Applications are accepted November - January; grants are awarded in June) • The Women’s Giving Circle, a fund of ECCF, awards grants to Eau Claire area nonprofits whose programs improve the lives of local women and children. (Applications are accepted April - July; grants are awarded in December)

LEAVE YOUR LEGACY Bequests of a fixed dollar amount or percentage of your assets in your will or trust can help you support your community forever.

Life Insurance allows you to make a significant charitable impact at very little cost. You can name your fund as a beneficiary and give later. You can also donate an existing policy and take an immediate tax deduction.

Retirement Plans, when passed to an heir, are quickly depleted by taxation.

Instead, you can name your fund at the ECCF as the beneficiary and avoid taxes, and preserve your hard-earned assets for the good of your community.

Your planned giving ensures the future forever.

Real Estate, for many individuals, can be a logical donation for charitable giving. When working with your professional advisor and ECCF, you can avoid capital gains and establish a fund that supports your philanthropic goals.

Other options to consider: Charitable Gift Annuities Charitable Lead Trusts Charitable Remainder Annuity Trusts * The ECCF does not offer legal advice to individuals

regarding their tax, financial, and estate planning.

We encourage donors considering a bequest to the Foundation to work with their legal and financial advisors.

Your legacy doesn’t have to be large, but leave something to Eau Claire. This is the place to do it. Whatever legacy you have to leave, that’s the right amount.

- Dick Cable, Legacy Society Member

LEGACY SOCIETY Our Legacy Society recognizes individuals who have made provisions in their estate plans to provide a gift to the Foundation for the causes they care about the most.

These members look beyond the here and now to the future well–being of the greater Eau Claire area.

Over 160 Members

“There are so many needs in the community that it’s hard to determine what is the most important. But we knew that the Foundation—with its tremendous resources of talent—did.”

“It has been a great pleasure to participate in the birth and growth of the ECCF. We are delighted to be able to continue to contribute to the well-being of this wonderful community.”

- Susan and Roger Tietz, Legacy Society Members

- Bob and Louise Barfknecht, Legacy Society Members

There will come a time in your life when you stop and reflect …

What’s your passion?

What legacy will you leave?

How will you be remembered?

Will you leave the world a better place?

Make ECCF Your Legacy.

Become a member of the Legacy Society.

To find out more, visit the “Powerful Giving” tab on our website, www.eccommunityfoundation.org.

Certified for Excellence. Accountability. Impact.

The National Standards for U.S. Community Foundations® accreditation program represents a community foundation’s commitment to go above and beyond the federal and state law requirements to demonstrate accountability and excellence to communities, policy makers, and the public.

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