Community foundations exist in every corner of the United States. They bring together the financial resources of individuals, families, and businesses to support nonprofits in their communities and beyond. Community foundations do this by providing donors with flexible, efficient, and tax-effective ways to ensure their charitable giving achieves the greatest possible impact.
Unlike private foundations, a community foundation accepts donations, manages charitable assets, and makes grants.
Community foundations play a key role in identifying and solving community problems. Plus, some community foundations, like Austin Community Foundation, lead programs that improve local communities.
Gifts to a community foundation benefit the community forever! Individuals, families, and businesses partner with their local community foundation to make giving easier, more effective, and more impactful. Community foundations are staffed with experts who are ready to share knowledge on critical issues and needs in our region.
When you establish a charitable fund at Austin Community Foundation, your charitable dollars become part of a growing pool of resources that can have the greatest impact on vital issues—and you join a group of Central Texans who are making a difference by keeping their philanthropic dollars local.
Austin Community Foundation offers several types of funds to help donors achieve their charitable goals. Additionally, a wide range of financial assets can be accepted. Our flexibility allows donors to maximize tax-saving benefits while supporting their favorite causes.
Community foundations play important roles as community leaders. From creating partnerships to hosting critical conversations, Austin Community Foundation’s team is dedicated to finding innovative and effective solutions for our region’s most challenging problems.
Through legacy planning, we help donors invest in their favorite causes and charities beyond their lifetimes. Thanks to their foresight, Austin Community Foundation is here for good, forever.
A distinctive feature of community foundations is variance power, the authority to change the purposes of a fund under certain circumstances as defined by the Internal Revenue Code. Austin Community Foundation reserves the power to modify any restriction or condition on the distribution of assets from the fund if, in the sole judgement of the Board of Governors, such restriction or condition becomes, in effect, unnecessary, incapable of fulfillment, or inconsistent with the charitable needs of the area ACF serves.
The variance power ensures that endowed funds that designate a specific beneficiary or charitable purpose don’t become obsolete when the donor of the gift has long since passed.