| Question: | Are all charities involved in the endowment fund or the bookkeeping? |
| Answer: | Some accounts are opened by charities that do not wish to be involved in endowment fund bookkeeping or who feel the Foundation involvement adds assurance of professional financial management. Donations to such accounts are earmarked for that charity. |
| Updated: | 03/10/03 |
| Question: | Is there a donation limit? |
| Answer: | Accounts with the Foundation are typically established by an individual, family or business. The preferred initial account size for separate donor advised administration is $25,000 so that the Foundaiton can efficiently manage the principal while making annual distributions to charities suggested by the donors. Smaller donations can build to that level or can be added to the general comunity improvement account. |
| Updated: | 03/10/03 |
| Question: | Will the foundations make grants, such as scholarships, to individuals? |
| Answer: | No, for two reasons. First, the Foundation is a public charity which has promised the IRS that it will make distributions only to 501(c)3 type organizations. Secondly, our low overhead Foundation is not staffed to make individual awards. The Foundation could make distributions to a school or a school district and suggest that the schools' scholarship committee handle awards. |
| Updated: | 03/10/03 |
| Question: | I represent a non-profit organization; how might we get grants from the Foundation? |
| Answer: | We are not set up as a foundation which has money on hand to give out to groups who apply for grants. Most gifts that we manage are specified by the donor for a chosen charitable purpose, rather than for us to distribute in response to requests. You are welcome to tell us about your organization and to tell your existing donors that they might consider establishing an endowment account to provide you with more permanent funding. We will be happy to put information about your group in our file, and also tell you about our Abroad purpose@ endowment accounts. |
| Updated: | 03/10/03 |
| Question: | We are trying to bring more arts into Manhattan and last for the second year are hosting Shakespear in the Park in September. We hold fundraisers to pay the $1000 fee for the play but have always run short. We were hoping to receive a grant to help support the Arts in Manhattan! Thank you! |
| Answer: | That sounds like a great, fun project. A BACF grant of perhaps $250 toward your project would be possible, but most all grants are spoken for at this time. Over 90 % of our grants go to specific organizations or purposes listed by the donors who established endowments. Unfortunately, so far no donor from Manhattan has established a "Manhattan Community Endowment" that would provide earnings targeted toward such projects in Manhattan. We'd be glad to assist you in trying to create such an endowment for the future. One current possibility exits: attend our first annual BACF Partnering Seminar and grant distribution meeting and register for a drawing for a $250 donation. (Must be a 501(c)3 and present to win - Tuesday June 29, 2004 at 5:30 p.m. in meeting room F of the Bozeman Hospital) |
| Updated: | 06/28/04 |
