A monthly newsletter for our region's trusted financial and legal advisors, by the Community Foundation of Grand Forks, East Grand Forks & Region.

Greetings from the Community Foundation! 

The days are getting shorter! We’re already hearing from attorneys, CPAs, and financial advisors that you’re ready to get a jump on year-end charitable planning for your clients. 

In the spirit of staying ahead of the curve, we’re covering 3 topics this month that can help you as you begin to talk with clients about the remaining “must do” items for 2024, including charitable giving.

• Procrastination is a very common human reaction to tasks that seem daunting. Estate planning, tax planning, and financial planning can sometimes fall into this category. Unfortunately, clients who put things off for too long often find themselves missing out on opportunities to further their goals. The Community Foundation offers tips for using charitable giving as a “gateway” topic for bigger conversations about essential year-end planning.
  
• Your clients who are business owners and who are also philanthropic will appreciate your suggestions about incorporating charitable giving into their succession plans. This is a good time to have that conversation in light of legal developments and upcoming tax law changes. The Community Foundation can help! 
  
• As always, the Community Foundation stays on top of trends that impact your work with your charitable clients. We’re sharing updates so you can stay current on popular planning techniques, how the election year may influence charitable giving, and what’s ahead on the calendar to help motivate your clients to complete their planning to do lists. 
  

Thank you for the opportunity to work together! We are grateful.

Becca Baumbach
​Executive Director

Stay up-to-date on benefits, opportunities, and changes that may impact your clients.

A donor-advised fund is a fund for which the donor and their family members make recommendations for grants, subject to the approval of the Foundation’s Board of Directors. Our most popular fund option, donor-advised funds provide maximum convenience and flexibility by enabling donors to address a wide variety of issues as their charitable interests and priorities change over time. The Foundation manages check writing, reporting, and paperwork. Many donors choose this type of fund to simplify their annual giving.

The Foundation offers 2 types of donor-advised funds:

• Flexible funds allow you to make grants, as long as you maintain a balance of at least $10,000. These funds will accrue investment returns, which can add to the amount available for grantmaking.
• Endowed funds are designed to continually grow charitable assets, thereby leaving a lasting resource for the community. Only a portion of the income earned on the fund’s assets is available for grantmaking each year, with the emphasis on growing the principal for long-term use. This choice is best for those whose philanthropic vision extends far into the future.

A donor who creates an advised fund can identify a successor or the organizations that the fund will continue supporting in the donor’s name after death. The Foundation’s stewardship ensures that the donor’s charitable intent is fulfilled in perpetuity.

Donors typically create a donor-advised fund when you have an active interest in supporting a number of causes and want to remain both involved and flexible in your charitable objectives. The donor-advised fund is also a good option if your clients want to involve future generations in family philanthropy. Because the Foundation handles all the administrative and reporting tasks, a donor-advised fund can simplify and streamline charitable giving and record keeping.

COMMUNITY FOUNDATION HOURS
Our office is open Monday through Thursday from 10am to 4pm. Meetings are by appointment. We keep remote hours on Fridays from 10am to 4pm and are available by phone and email.

This newsletter as well as any referenced materials are provided for informational purposes only. They are not intended as legal, accounting, or financial planning advice.