Nonprofit organizations can transfer assets to the Community Foundation to create a permanent endowment fund, typically called an Agency Fund.  Working with our community foundation is an ideal way to create an endowment fund on your organization’s behalf.  The Foundation does the record keeping, investment management, and distribution of earnings.  We also accept gifts into your fund from new donors, most conveniently through our secure website.  Your fund’s annual spending amount provides an ongoing source of unrestricted income to your organization.

An Agency Fund frees you to focus on building your endowment and planning how to use its earnings most strategically.  Your nonprofit organization can benefit from a fund with the Lancaster County Community Foundation in the following ways:

• Stability and Responsibility: A fund at the Foundation shows donors that your organization is serious about its long-term financial stability.  We have a reputation for accounting excellence, and we can provide single-fund reporting using our FIMS software.
  
• Prudent Investment Management:  The Foundation maintains your fund’s long-term investment performance by maximizing returns through professional investment management, diversification, and negotiated lower fees.  Your fund will generate a relatively stable income stream due to the Foundation’s judicious spending policies.
  
• Major and Planned Giving Expertise: The Foundation’s professional staff is experienced in helping donors achieve their goals through a major or planned gift.  We can assist your organization as you work with your donors, helping them make a gift to your fund using the most effective assets.
  
• Assistance with Gift Transactions : The Foundation can assist your donors and advisors to execute complex transactions and deferred planned giving, including gifts made with appreciated securities (including closely-held business stock), tangible personal property, real estate, gifts that provide donors with lifetime incomes (such as Charitable Remainder Unitrusts), and gifts from bequests.
  
• Marketing Support: The Foundation can assist with efforts to market your agency endowment fund by ghostwriting, guest authoring, or editing articles for newsletters, endowment brochures, websites, and direct mail letters.
  
• Gift Acknowledgement:  The Foundation ensures the all of your fund donors are promptly and properly acknowledged for their gifts.
  
• Increased Visibility:  The Foundation includes your fund in its periodic reports, newsletters, and on its website.  Organizations can create direct links to their fund on the Foundation’s website, enabling donors to make direct gifts.