Donors establish charitable funds at the Maine Community Foundation for many reasons:

Permanence and Stability: Your Gift Will Keep Giving

The foundation is here for the long-term. Permanent endowments provide benefits for the community now and in the years ahead. Donors may choose a name for the fund they create and make additional gifts to it at any time.

Future Generations

By naming a second generation of fund advisors, donors have the ability to involve their children in philanthropy.

Convenience

Establishing a fund at the Maine Community Foundation usually involves a simple one-page document. The foundation works with you to establish the type of fund that best serves your intent.

Accountability

Ensuring that contributed funds are used both in accordance with the donor’s directions and for public benefit is of primary importance at the foundation.

An independent professional audit is made annually and all grants are publicly disclosed. Donors receive statements detailing the fund’s activity on an annual, semi-annual or quarterly basis.

Professional Fund Management

An investment committee oversees Maine Community Foundation investments. The committee is responsible for setting investment policy and strategy, hiring outside professional managers and monitoring investment performance against industry benchmarks.

Members of the committee have extensive experience in business, investments and the financial services industries.

UMIFA

The Maine Community Foundation invests its assets for total return in compliance with the Uniform Management of Institutional Funds Act.

This act allows institutions to consider both income and capital appreciation in determining annual monies available for distribution. The act also encourages long-term investment strategies that are less susceptible to sudden shifts in interest rates and market valuations.

The annual amount currently available for charitable spending is calculated at the beginning of each year at the rate of 5% of the average principal balance of the fund over the previous 12 quarters.

Flexibility

As a vehicle for philanthropy, the Maine Community Foundation is extremely flexible. This flexibility is reflected in the variety of funds that may be established, the type of assets used to establish a find, and the ability to ensure that a donor’s wishes are fulfilled now and in the future.