Is it time for your clients to consider an alternative to their private foundations?

Are your clients voicing concerns about their private foundations? Do they say their foundations are becoming too expensive? Too burdensome? Too time-consuming? Are the board members uninvolved, or too dispersed?

At the Marin Community Foundation, we're hearing from more and more people with private foundations that they want to continue their charitable giving, but in ways that are more efficient and more effective.

Here are some of the facts:

• Many family foundations are small. In fact, in 2007, about 60% reported assets of under $1 million.
• About half made annual grants totaling $50,000 or less.
• The economic downturn has reduced the assets of most foundations — and therefore their ability to make grants.

For many families, this doesn't justify the amount of cost or time involved, in grantmaking, investing, family dynamics, reporting, and governing.

That's where the Marin Community Foundation comes in.

Our donor-advised funds are a powerful, simple alternative to private foundations that enable families to continue supporting, in their name, the issues and organizations that matter the most to them.

Here are the benefits of donor-advised funds at the Foundation as an alternative to private foundations:

We do all the work. Staff at the Foundation can help a family develop a plan for their giving. As experts on community issues, we do research on issues and organizations of interest to the donors. We do all accounting, and reporting to the IRS. We issue all grant checks and handle the mail. And we do the prudent due diligence on potential grant recipients — wherever they're located.

We are very cost-effective. Our administrative fee is only 0.5% or $500 annually (whichever is higher).

Your clients can continue receiving recognition for their giving. They can name their fund so the family name is used, or they can choose to be anonymous in their giving.

Donors can still involve their families, and have their giving benefit future generations. They can involve their children immediately — or later, as successor advisors. That way, they can make charitable giving a part of their legacy, both to their family and to the community.

Donors do not have to pay excise taxes on the interest earned on investments, thereby maximizing the resources available for grantmaking.

We generally offer better tax advantages than a private foundation. As a public charity, the Marin Community Foundation offers preferential tax treatment of charitable gifts. For example, new gifts of cash receive a tax deduction of up to 50% of adjusted gross income, compared to 30% for gifts to a private foundation.

We track regulatory and legal changes regarding philanthropy. Donors are ensured they won't make any mistakes with their giving, especially since there are new and frequently changing laws and tax regulations affecting personal giving.

Donor-advised funds do not have a minimum payout requirement. Donors can grant out as much or as little as they like, if they've designated the fund as expendable. Or, donors can choose to have the fund managed as an endowment — in which case, a spending rule applies.

Your clients benefit from the Foundation's stewardship of funds. All of our funds pool their assets and benefit from the expertise of the Foundation's highly experienced, professional Investment Committee. Donors have several choices for investing their funds, including a mix of equity, fixed income, and cash pools.

Finally, while there is a legal process to terminate a private foundation and transfer it to a donor-advised fund at the Marin Community Foundation, we can help your clients understand what's involved, and help get it done. We've done it many times.

The Marin Community Foundation has been around for over 20 years. We've made hundreds of millions of dollars in grants to community groups in Marin County, elsewhere in the U.S., and around the world. We are the center of philanthropy in Marin, helping hundreds of families make their charitable giving more effective and satisfying.

At a time when families are thinking about more efficient ways of realizing their charitable dreams, we're here to help.

Give Elizabeth Brown, vice president for Philanthropic Services, a call at 415.464.2517 for a personal consultation.