There are as many reasons to invest in the community foundation as there are donors. Some want to ensure support in perpetuity for charitable organizations and causes that are important to them, while others see tax saving opportunities. Some realize that it offers the economy and efficiency for their own charitable giving that they may not find elsewhere. Still others turn to the community foundation as an alternative to a private foundation.  All find that a permanent endowment ensures that their good works will continue in their name . . . . forever.

Charitable Funds

Great Giving options.  Choose the one that's Right for you.

Donor Advised Fund

A personal approach to giving.

Opening a Donor Advised Fund allows you to make a gift to the Lubbock Area Foundation, then remain actively involved in suggesting uses for your gift. You can work with our program staff to suggest ongoing uses for the fund — targeting the issues you care about the most. Grant awards are issued to charities in the name of the fund (or anonymously if you prefer). It’s a simple, powerful, and highly personal approach to giving.

Donor Advised Funds are convenient, flexible tools for individuals, families, businesses, or civic groups that want to be personally involved in suggesting grant awards made possible by their gifts. If you have a range of community interests, you may find that it’s an ideal vehicle for fulfilling your charitable wishes. Donor Advised Funds are typically less costly and easier to administer than other forms of philanthropic giving (such as family or corporate foundations).

Your gift can be combined with others to increase its impact, and you can add to the fund you establish at any time, receiving tax benefits with each new gift. You can establish a fund today and make grant recommendations now or in the future. And if you endow your gift, it becomes a permanent community funding resource.

Example Donor Stories

Individual Donor

A personal connection.

When Evelyn Davies moved to Lubbock several years ago, she looked for ways to be involved in supporting this community. She and her husband, Bill, are active supporters of the arts and have donated their collection of Southwest Indian art to the TTU Museum.  “As a mother and grandmother, I’ve always been concerned with children’s issues. With the help of the Foundation staff, I can give to several organizations and related causes that truly assist children in educational, social and developmental activities. The staff learns of the best ways to distribute funds to groups that need and deserve assistance, and therefore, the distributions are effectively applied to promote causes that have my particular interest, ” she says.

 

In 1996, Evelyn met with our staff to discuss ways she might increase the impact of her giving and gain maximum tax advantage. Evelyn chose to establish a Donor Advised Fund and now regularly confers with our program staff to recommend grants to the organizations and programs she cares about most. “Last year, based on my recommendations, the fund supported a program to help older students mentor younger students, provided support for Youth Corps leadership training camp, and made urgent repairs to the Guadalupe Parkway Neighborhood Center” reports Evelyn. “This is a great way to stay involved and allows me to make a difference in this community.”

 

Family Donor

Sharing family values.

“We wanted to share our community values with our children and share our family values with our community,” says Nita Kiesling, explaining why she and her husband Ernie established the Kiesling Family Fund within the Lubbock Area Foundation. Every year, the Kieslings and their family recommend uses of the fund. Last year, they recommended that it be used to help Upward Bound (limited-income first generation college students) participants teach blind persons to assemble computer components and to use computer accessibility software.  The project helps bridge the digital gap for the visually impaired while also cultivating the Upward Bound students' community responsibility through participation in a unique service-learning experience.

 

 “We appreciate the opportunity to involve our whole family in giving back to the community that has had a profound influence on each of us,” says Nita.

 

Business Donor

A better approach.

Companies with traditions of charitable giving receive many requests for donations and may find it hard to decide which appeals to respond to… and even harder to know if their company’s charitable gifts are making a difference. A better approach – the company can establish a Donor Advised Fund at the Lubbock Area Foundation. Each year, it may add to the fund. A team of employees meets with the Foundation staff to review local needs and recommend grants. The Foundation vets all applications for assistance and the company employees are able to concentrate on meeting needs most important to them.

 

Unrestricted Fund

Meeting ever-changing community needs.

When you establish an Unrestricted Fund, your gift can address a broad range of local needs — including future needs that often cannot be anticipated at the time your gift is made. We evaluate all aspects of community well-being: arts and culture, economic development, education, environment, health and human services, neighborhood revitalization, and more. The flexibility of your unrestricted gift enables the Lubbock Area Foundation’s current, and future, Boards to respond to this area’s most pressing needs, today and tomorrow.

Because you set no restrictions on the use of your gift, the Foundation Board can to do what it does best — assess community needs and respond by awarding grants to the nonprofit organizations that undertake our community’s most critical work. Unrestricted Funds enable the Lubbock Area Foundation to support long-term solutions; respond quickly to emergencies; and meet changing social, cultural, educational, or environmental needs in our local community.

Grants are made in the name of the fund you establish, creating your personal legacy of giving. You may give your gift immediately or through your will or other estate planning strategy. If you endow your gift, it becomes a permanent community asset.

 Example Donor Story

A lasting legacy.

Mrs. Gladys Leftwich always made giving to her community a personal priority. In planning for the disposition of her estate, she decided on a bequest that would benefit the Lubbock area and chose the Foundation to administer her gift for this community. The endowment she established is now a perpetual source of help to the people who will always live here. Because she did not place any restrictions on the use of her endowment, her gift will never become outdated. As community needs change, future Foundation boards of directors will be able to use her gift to meet the most pressing needs of the time – and always in her name. Because it’s endowed at the Lubbock Area Foundation, her gift will make a difference forever. It will grow over time and become a more and more valuable asset for our community. This is exactly the legacy she wanted to leave.

 

Field of Interest Fund

Connecting personal values to high-impact opportunities.

By establishing a Field of Interest Fund, you can target your gift to address needs in an important area of community life. Arts. Education. Aging. At-risk youth. Our board awards grants to community organizations and programs that are making a difference in the area you select. Your gift stays flexible enough to meet community needs in your interest area — even as they change over time.

While you direct the Field of Interest Fund you establish from its creation, the maintenance is left up to us. Our program staff continually monitors changing community needs so that you can be sure grants made in the name of your fund make the most impact in your field of interest and create your personal legacy of giving.

You can add any amount to the Field of Interest Fund you establish at any time — and so can others who share your interests in this community. If you endow your gift, it becomes a permanent community funding resource.

Example Donor Story

Personal concerns will not be forgotten.

Dr. Ruth Wright was a lifelong resident of Lubbock who contributed vitally to the academic and social life of this city. Always both intellectual and athletic, Dr. Wright was an avid golfer and tennis player and pursued a distinguished academic career.

 

She had a great love for her pets which came to encompass animals in general.  She directed that her estate be used by the Lubbock Area Foundation for the support of organizations that provide care for animals that are lost, abandoned or injured. The Foundation will preserve her estate as a permanent endowment for that purpose, seeking out and providing annual grants from the endowment to the organizations and programs in this area that provide care and rehabilitation of animals.

 

Scholarship

Investing in deserving students.

In creating a Scholarship, you invest in your community’s future and show students you care. The Lubbock Area Foundation provides the expertise to help you meet your personal goals and awards Scholarships to deserving students. Your gift can help students — from preschool to postgraduate — achieve their lifetime dreams.

 You can create a Scholarship as a memorial to someone special, selecting eligibility criteria that exemplify that person’s goals and values. Or, you may use it to express your educational values — or those of your family or business. Depending on your preferences, the Scholarship you establish can support any area of academic need and eligible educational expenses. Our program staff tracks performance to ensure students continue to meet the terms for Scholarship support.

Example Donor Story

Valuing education while honoring their mother.

Searching for a meaningful way to honor their mother, Madeline, who was a teacher in Tahoka schools for many years, John and Fred Hegi decided on a scholarship which would further their mother’s lifelong interest in the children of her community. They established the Madeline Hegi Scholarship within the Lubbock Area Foundation for graduates of Tahoka High School. They and their mother are actively involved with the students who will benefit. Scholarships are made in the name of the fund and have created a legacy to Madeline’s love and concern for children.  “It’s a wonderful feeling to let students know that my mother still cares,” says John. “The Lubbock Area Foundation does all the administrative work and Fred and I, and the committee we have chosen to help us, select the most deserving students each year.”  Over the past five years, the Madeline Hegi Scholarship Fund has supported 18 students with scholarships.

 

Designated Fund

Helping sustain and advance local organizations.

Establishing a Designated Fund allows you to support the good work of a specific nonprofit organization — a senior center, museum, or virtually any nonprofit charitable organization of your choice. Because it’s given through the Lubbock Area Foundation, your gift provides more than just current funding. It also provides the power of endowment - your favorite organization will benefit from the Foundation’s investment stewardship and help with administrative details.

You can add to the fund at any time, in any amount. If the organization you select ceases to exist or changes in mission, the fund can be redirected so that it continues to address your original charitable intent.

You can be sure that the endowment fund’s principal will not be spent and can grow over time, providing a source of lasting support. And the Foundation’s economies of scale provide the organization the benefits of a diverse investment portfolio and low investment fees that typically come only with very large funds.

Example Donor Story

Individual Donor

A source of strength and stability.

An opportunity to combine their love of Lubbock and appreciation of literature led Travis and Laney Bridwell to create an endowment within the Lubbock Area Foundation. The Laney and Travis Bridwell Endowment supports the work of the Lubbock Public Library through the Friends of the Library. The Bridwells were aware of the efforts of the Library staff to expand into under-served areas and incorporate new technology into their services.  The endowment they established gives the Friends of the Library the means and flexibility to implement improvements. “We believe our gift will have maximum impact because the Library reaches so many people of all ages and backgrounds. It is an investment in our interests and in Lubbock,” says Dr. Bridwell.

Agency Endowment Fund

Endowing your nonprofit organization.

Nonprofit organizations can also establish a Designated Fund or Agency Endowment at the Lubbock Area Foundation. It’s a simple and efficient way to build an endowment — and help create sustainability — for your nonprofit organization. We handle investment management and the administrative responsibilities related to endowment so that your organization’s staff and volunteer hours are concentrated on fulfilling your mission.

Your organization’s regular donors can leave a bequest through the Lubbock Area Foundation to benefit your organization forever and create a personal legacy. The Foundation can facilitate even the most complex planned gifts or gifts of appreciated stock or real estate. Your organization may also qualify for matching funds to build your endowment. Learn more about The Community Endowment Challenge

Affiliate Community Fund
Creating an investment vehicle for your local community.

Affiliate Community Funds are funds that are designated to benefit a particular geographic area – be it a county, a community, or a region.  Each Affiliate is overseen by a committee of local leaders who are charged with two tasks: first, educating their friends and neighbors about the wisdom of creating a “charitable savings account” to benefit the area; and, second, making wise decisions about grant distributions when such funds become available.

South Plains communities that wish to establish an Affiliate Community Fund can use the Lubbock Area Foundation’s services to support their charitable work. This allows the affiliate community to focus on raising the funds and deciding charitable use for the income of their fund, while relying on the Lubbock Area Foundation to handle the administration, investment and the daily office tasks to maintain their fund.

Establishing an Affiliate Community Fund at the Lubbock Area Foundation has many benefits.

• An Affiliate Community Fund is connected with a credible Community Foundation that will encourage and attract donors to set aside endowment gifts. The Lubbock Area Foundation's nearly 25-year track record and access to exceptional investment expertise are assurances that many donors find attractive.

• A relatively constant source of annual income for the community establishing the Fund.

• Reduce or eliminate the ongoing burden or your community to oversee and maintain a separate endowment program.

• Access to legal and technical advice and consulting on planned giving options.

• Administration of charitable annuities, the receipt of real estate gifts, and help with calculations and support for establishment of other planned giving options such as Charitable Remainder Trusts, Lead Trust, etc.

• As the Lubbock Area Foundation is a member of the Council on Foundations and meets national standards, the Affiliate Community Funds can benefit from professional designed marketing materials, access to on-line philanthropic expertise and exceptional training and development opportunities.

Supporting Organization

High impact, high involvement, low hassle.

A Supporting Organization is an excellent alternative to a private foundation — with only a fraction of the administrative responsibilities. You select some of the board members, maintain personal involvement, and support the causes you care about most while enjoying the favorable tax treatment of a public charity. Leave investment management, startup costs, grant administration, reporting and tax returns to the Lubbock Area Foundation.

Though connected to the Foundation, the Supporting Organization you establish is a separate charitable entity — that bears your name, or any name you choose.

You select up to 49 percent of your board of directors; the Lubbock Area Foundation assigns the rest (so that you benefit from affiliation with a public charity). You and future generations may appoint successor board members to help direct the Supporting Organization you establish and define its purpose and mission.

Your contributions may yield a greater tax deduction than those made to a private foundation, and the Supporting Organization is not subject to other private foundation rules and regulations, such as paying an excise tax or making a minimum payout each year. Working through your community foundation, you have the choice of receiving recognition or remaining anonymous in your giving.

Several efficiencies preserve your charitable assets and allow you to make the impact you desire. The startup and administration is simple and allows your board to begin issuing grants right away. And through the years, the Lubbock Area Foundation can provide local grantmaking expertise, reporting services, and management of the Supporting Organization’s assets by investment professionals.  

The Legacy Society

Your planned gift to Lubbock Area Foundation will have meaning and impact for years to come. We honor those who have made a lasting commitment by including charitable gifts to the foundation in their estate plans through the Legacy Society.  Learn more about the Legacy Society.

There is so much more we’d like you to know. For more information and ideas on ways to integrate your financial planning with charitable giving, ask your financial advisor or contact Kathy Stocco at kathy@lubbockareafoundation.org