Fundholder Resources

 Rochester Area Foundation is dedicated to helping you do your giving your way, on your own time frame, to maximize your giving impact.

Whether you decide to give now, or give later as part of your will or estate plan, giving to RAF is easy and effective. Below are some common questions we get from donors and people who are exploring their options.

Grant Recommendation Form (for donor advised funds)

Donor Resources

 

Frequently Asked Questions

 

What are the Benefits of Giving to RAF?

That’s easy!

  • You receive maximum tax benefits
  • No administrative overhead, headaches or hassles of a private foundation
  • Work with professional and knowledgeable staff
  • Deep knowledge of the community
  • Secure, online access to make your gifts and monitor your fund activity
  • Investment practices are sound and reliable, with several investment options to choose from
  • You determine the level of recognition you’d like to receive
Besides Cash, What Can I Give to RAF?

Great question!

RAF accepts a wide variety of gifts, including stock and mutual funds, retirement plan assets, life insurance beneficiary designation and more.

Read more about Ways to Give.

How Do I Start My Own Fund?

Piece of cake!

Starting an endowment or donor advised fund is easy. Choose from a variety of fund options to meet your short- and long-term charitable giving goals. Donor advised funds can be created with a minimum gift of $10,000, and endowment funds can be started with $25,000. All types of funds can be built over 5 years.

Learn more about starting a fund.

What Types of Funds Can I Start?

Excellent question!

RAF offers a variety of funds that allow you to use the income from the investments you make for charitable purposes.

Donor Advised Funds enable you to make distribution recommendations to charities of your choice and are a cost-effective, efficient alternative to a private or family foundation.

Field of Interest Funds are endowed funds that are pooled together with RAF’s Better Communities Fund to support competitive grantmaking to nonprofits in the Rochester area.

Designated Funds support a particular charity forever and are created by an individual or business.

Nonprofit Endowments funds are opened by a charitable organization to support their operations or a specific program forever.

Scholarship Funds are endowed funds that provide competitive scholarships for students every year.

How Do I Give to an Existing Fund?

If you know the fund you want to give to, you can search for a fund here. If not:

The best way to give to an existing fund is to find one that matches your charitable interests.

Learn more about our existing funds on the Where to Give page.

How Do I Set Up My Will or Estate Plan to Leave a Bequest to RAF?

It’s really quite simple!

Head over to our Gift and Estate Planning page and find what you need. Or give us a call and we would be happy to help you.

Where Can I Find Financial Information?

Read more on our Financial Information page. If you have questions, please email giving@rochesterarea.org or call (507) 282-0203.

I Still Have Questions!

We’re here to help! Contact our office at (507) 282-0203 and we’ll connect you with the right person, right now. Or, visit our staff directory.

Learn more about Starting a Fund.