ECCF Overview Brochure

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.

Other Funds:

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.

Agency, Designated Scholarship, Fiscal Sponsorship, Pass-Through

$19 Over Funds Opened Since Inception

335 Over Million $36 Total Assets

Includes ECPSF

• Strengthens financial support for local nonprofits that focus on the chosen area. Over Million in Grants Awarded Since Inception

Excludes Agency Funds

GIVING IS EASY

Each of ECCF’s more than 335 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

Designated Scholarship

$500 to establish

Minimum of $10,000 is required to begin granting

$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 per grant distribution

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

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

Form Futures

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.

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.

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

Your planned giving ensures the future forever. *

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.

Over 175 Members

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.

- Anonymous, Legacy Society Member

“There

There

“It

Will

- Susan and Roger Tietz, Legacy Society Members

- Bob and Louise Barfknecht, Legacy Society Members

Designed by: Joe Grosskreutz

Past