Celebrating Designated Grants

by Trish Reimer

Do you celebrate significant annual events such as special anniversaries, family milestones, and birthdays? Here at the Lincoln Community Foundation, we like to celebrate something special each August – annual grant distributions from our designated funds. 

Simply put, designated funds are endowed funds in which the donor has listed designated qualified charities to receive an annual grant. We refer to these charities as beneficiaries of the fund. Some donors may list one beneficiary whereas others might list multiple beneficiaries. 

This year we generated 407 designated grants to 231 beneficiaries from 170 active designated funds. This amounted to nearly $1.7 million in grants distributed. It was an annual celebratory process that I’m coining “Designated Day.”  

Some donors will set up their designated fund during their lifetime while others prefer to make arrangements through legacy planning. Designated funds continue to grow through the power of endowment and sage financial management by the Foundation staff. Designated funds can be appealing philanthropic vehicles that allow donors’ gifts to grow while benefiting nonprofits that may not have the administrative capacity to manage endowed investments. 

Designated funds are also attractive to donors who wish to leave sustaining gifts to multiple nonprofits without having to set up separate funds for each of them. We take the trust that donors place in the Foundation very seriously to ensure that these annual grants are disbursed per the donors’ wishes. 

It is a great honor to serve as a connector between donors and the charities they wish to support in perpetuity. It’s rewarding to know that we can look forward to and share in this annual celebration. What a privilege it is to work “Together for Good.” 

Establishing a designated fund with the Lincoln Community Foundation means that you are leaving an annual, sustaining gift to those organizations that you love…forever. If this sounds like a good fit to help you achieve your charitable goals, we invite you to reach out to us. We’d be honored to help you plan this annual celebration. 

Here's wishing everyone a happy “Designated Day” and many, many more.