Niagara Community Foundation

8th Annual Canadian Business Leaders Breakfast

Rubber Hits the Road with Tire Dealers

Provides a means whereby the community's charitable assets and decision making can be applied locally;

Pools the charitable gifts of many donors into a permanent, income-earning endowment that benefits the people of Niagara primarily and fulfills the philanthropic objectives of individual donors;

Makes grants from the earnings on these funds to support a broad variety of initiatives from health, education and social services to arts, culture and the environment;

Offers neutral advice and support to all kinds of individuals and organizations trying to make philanthropic decisions;

Provides leadership by bringing people together from all sectors, to identify and address issues as well as to leverage opportunities in the region.

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What is the Community Foundation's Charitable Registration number?
The Community Foundation's Charitable Registration number is
86710 5322 RR0001

Who runs it?
The Community Foundation is independent, autonomous and accountable to the community as a whole. As a way of ensuring that the Community Foundation will be well managed today and into the future, the governing body is appointed by an outside Nominating Committee, chaired by the Foundation's Past President and made up of the incumbents in positions of responsibility and influence.

This Committee is responsible for selecting the best possible people to fill vacancies as they arise on the Board of Directors. The members of the Board are chosen for their integrity, expertise and ability to serve the Community Foundation without compensation. These Board appointments are limited to three years, renewable once. The Board, in turn, hires and oversees the Executive Director who is responsible for the day to day running of the Community Foundation, including the hiring of other staff.

Does the Community Foundation receive government operating funding?
No. All of the funds under the Community Foundation's care have been established and have grown thanks to donations. Occasionally the government will offer special matching fund programs to encourage donations to the Community Foundation. In 2002 donations to our Ontario Endowment from Children and Youth in Recreation Fund were matched by the Province of Ontario.

Who gives?
Individuals, families, clubs, corporations and other charities contribute. The Community Foundation makes participation possible by people of modest means as well as the wealthy.

Individuals and families often establish an advised fund within the Community Foundation instead of establishing their own foundation. This adds to administrative efficiency and reduces expenses.

Some corporations rely on the expertise of the Community Foundation to administer their corporate donations programs.

Many charities, including other foundations, place their endowment funds with the Community Foundation in order to ensure their future financial viability, preserve their endowments in perpetuity and benefit from ongoing professional endowment management expertise.
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What do they give?
The Community Foundation accepts nearly every kind of asset. Most non-cash gifts are liquidated immediately and the proceeds transferred to the investment portfolio.
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Where does the money go?
The Community Foundation itself is not the object of donor's philanthropy, but is the vehicle by which donors can fulfill their charitable objectives. Through its grantmaking programs, the Community Foundation is committed to seeding, nurturing, supporting and strengthening the community. Grants are made to not-for-profit organizations recognized by the Canada Revenue Agency as registered charities.
Grants are made in support of social services (including projects for the visually impaired, children, youth, seniors), health, arts, education, animal welfare and the environment, primarily within the Niagara region. The annual earnings of many of the funds under the Community Foundation's care are disbursed according to advice from the donors to those funds.
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Why use the Community Foundation?

The Community Foundation itself is not the object of anyone's philanthropy but provides the vehicle to fulfill their charitable objectives;

The Community Foundation is very flexible and provides many services to help donors realize their charitable objectives. Donors can have as much or as little involvement as they want in how the money is disbursed;

The Community Foundation can assist people who want to enjoy the tax saving advantages of charitable contributions in a particular year but are not certain which charities they would like to support. They can establish a fund quickly, obtain a tax receipt for the contributed amount and then decide later where to focus their giving from the fund.

The Community Foundation's investments are permanently endowed. Therefore they are always growing and the earnings will be available forever.

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What kinds of funds can be established?
Donations to the Community Foundation are generally used to establish one or more of several kinds of funds,any of which can bear the name of an individual, family, corporation or charitable cause; or the fund can be anonymous.
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How much must I contribute to establish a fund?
Donors can establish an advised fund with a minimum donation of $25,000, a designated fund with a minimum donation of $10,000 per designated charity or a community impact fund a minimum donation of $25,000. A named fund within any of these categories, in the Niagara Fund or one of our local community funds, can be opened with a gift of $5,000. Donors can make their gift over a five-year period. Once opened, other donors can add a contribution of any size to the fund.
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What is an endowment fund?
The definition of a fund is an invested sum, whose income is devoted to a specific object. An endowment is defined as the act of bestowing a permanent provision for support. Together, the term endowment fund means an invested sum of money which is permanently invested and whose income is devoted to a specific cause.
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What is the rate of return on investments?
The following table provides the rates for each year since the Community Foundation started in 2000.
2001 4.3%
2002 - 5.5%
2003 13.1%
2004 12.1%
2005 12.3%
2006 8.8%
2007 1.3%
2008 -15.7%

Why establish a donor advised fund instead of a private foundation?
Starting up a private foundation requires the donor to create a new organization, establish a board of trustees, obtain registered charitable status from Canada Revenue Agency and keep reporting regularly. A fund at a Community Foundation is far easier and faster to establish and entails no start-up costs. Maintaining a donor advised fund at the Community Foundation is usually more cost effective than running a private foundation, and the problem of intergenerational succession is resolved. In addition, Community Foundation donors are free of the responsibility for monitoring grants made and for fulfilling national and provincial reporting requirements. The Community Foundation staff handles all those administrative tasks.
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How much does it cost?

Each endowed fund is assessed a share of the investment management fees paid by the foundation, which is less than 1%. As the value of the Foundation's total investments increase, this fee decreases.

Each endowed fund is assessed an administration fee which covers legal, audit, staffing, and other overhead costs. The fee breakdown is as follows:

Minimum annual fee is $150, prorated on a monthly basis in the year of the initial donation

1.00% on first $500,000

0.85% on next $500,000 to $1,000,000

0.75% on amount over $1,000,000

Negotiable for amounts over $2,500,000

Flow-through funds: Occasionally a donor with an endowed fund will ask the foundation to flow-through their donation to one or more charities.

Minimum annual fee of $150 or 1% of the value of the donation

This fee covers 10 transactions (including donations or grants). Additional transactions will each be charged a $50 fee.

The fee could be waived if funds are held for a minimum of three months and foundation retains investment earnings or if the donor has an existing endowed fund with the foundation

Extraordinary expenses: Funds may be charged for any extraordinary direct expenses incurred on behalf of a specific commission for the sale of contributed stock or sale of property. Additional fees may be assessed for extraordinary services such as special grant processing and other non-standard services. The donor is aware of these fees in advance of making the gift.
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When is the Community Foundation's fundraising campaign?
The Community Foundation doesn't fundraise in any usual sense. The main source for donations, and thus the major focus is through charitable gift planning and gifts of assets.
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Which charitable causes or organizations does the Community Foundation support?

As a neutral broker, the Community Foundation can support any organization or cause that a donor names as long as it has charitable status with the Canada Revenue Agency. If they prefer, donors can specify a broad field of interest or make no specifications at all as to where the earnings from their funds should be directed. In this case, the Grants Committee decides, based on the applications received, where the money can have the greatest and most positive impact. The Board of Directors of the Foundation is responsible for the approval of all grants given out regardless of point of initiation - grant application or donor-directed
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When are the deadlines to apply for a grant?
To be considered in each grant cycle, complete applications must be received at our office no later than noon on the deadline date.
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Are applications accepted at any time?
Proposals can be submitted as early as 2 months before the appropriate deadline.
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What happens to my request after I send it in?
You will receive an acknowledgement of your request within three weeks of the deadline. Community Foundation staff review each application to determine whether the proposal meets the basic guidelines and granting criteria. If your project does not meet the criteria, or if additional information is required, you will be notified immediately. A Grants Committee ,who makes recommendations to the Board of Directors for ratification, reviews all grants.
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How long before a decision is made?
Decision-making may take up to three months after the application deadline.
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If I am confident that my project will be approved, can I get started on the project?
The Community Foundation is not always able to fund all the requests it receives from applicants. If your grant is approved, we do not cover any project expenses incurred prior to approval by the Board of Directors.
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Can I apply under more than one Grants program category?
You may apply for one grant under each category and if successful, you should prepare a final report on it before applying for another grant in the same category.
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Can I meet with someone before submitting an application?
The Community Foundation operates with a very small staff and is therefore not able to meet with all applicants. However, except for Summer Camp Grants, applicants must call the Community Foundation prior to submitting an application to discuss their application. We are interested in learning more about your project and working with you to put the most appropriate application forward. If more information is required in order to process your submitted application, you will be contacted and if necessary, a meeting may be arranged at that time.
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Does the Community Foundation provide support for core operations or projects?
The Community Grants program funds projects only.

Does the Community Foundation provide funding for more than one year at a time?
Rarely is the same project is funded more than once under the Community, Youth and Environment Grants program, and usually only for a new aspect of the initiative. Under the Strategic Initiative Grants program, multi-year funding is more likely to be considered and approved.
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What is the average amount of a grant?
The grants range from $1,000 to $10,000 with most falling between $2,500 and $5,000. Summer Camp grants range from $500 to $3,000, A complete list of grants awarded is listed in each annual reports.
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Can an individual (artist, researcher, community worker, etc.) receive a grant from the Community Foundation?
No. The Community Foundation can only issue grants to registered Canadian charities.
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How much detail should I include in the budget I enclose with my application?
The budget must cover all major categories (personnel, travel, office, etc.) but need not go into too much detail. The Community Foundation may request additional information if required. Remember that the total amount of revenues should be equal to the total amount of expenditures.
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Do I need to have other sources of funding for my request?
The Community Foundation prefers not to be the sole funder. From time to time, the Community Foundation will provide full funding for a project but only when it is evident that there are no other avenues for funding and the project is seen to be a high priority.
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Can I submit my application by e-mail or by fax?
No, we ask that you please mail your application to the Community Foundation. We do require that one copy of the application be sent electronically.
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