To everyone who calls the Girard area home, we invite you to become part of the Girard Area Community Foundation (GACF).
Founded in 2010, GACF seeks to preserve traditions for those who follow. We know that partnerships and building strong communities are keys to growth and success for a region. As a member of our community, your support is indispensable. By giving to the Girard Area Community Foundation, you can help create a family of donors passionate about improving the quality of life in our communities.
Table of Contents
Why Give to GACF?
- We are a local organization: We were founded by Girard-area residents and organizations, and to this day our board comprises local residents. We live in the same neighborhoods as our donors, send our kids to the same schools, drive the same roads, attend the same events, confront the same issues, and benefit when the Girard area benefits. As a result, we offer local expertise on needs and the organizations working to address them.
- We make giving easy: To encourage charitable giving, we make it easy to make gifts that benefit one or many charities! Learn more about how to give to GACF.
- We make giving powerful: When you give to GACF, you join a community of giving!
- We make giving rewarding: Your gifts to GACF are tax-deductible to the maximum extent permitted by law.
How to Give to GACF
We think giving back to your community should be simple, straightforward, and effective. So, we offer a wide range of giving options for local residents interested in charity.
Give to an Existing Fund
GACF is home to more than a dozen charitable funds, each of which advances its own charitable goals as chosen by the individual, family, business, or organization that established it. You can support any of our existing funds by donating online, in person, or by mail.
Establish a New Fund
If none of our existing funds address the charitable cause you want to give to, you can establish a new fund with us that does. Establishing a new fund is easy!
Choose a Fund Type
Charitable funds at GACF can be any of the following types:
- Donor-advised funds (DAFs): Do you want to play an ongoing role in your fund? A DAF might be a great option! With a DAF, you select charitable organizations to give to over time, rather than deciding upfront which charities should benefit.
- Designated funds: A designated fund gives to one or more eligible organizations chosen when the fund is established.
- Agency funds: An agency fund is like a designated fund, but it is established by a nonprofit organization for its own future benefit.
- Field-of-interest funds: Field-of-interest funds provide grants to nonprofits operating in a specific charitable field, such as healthcare or food security.
- Scholarship funds: Scholarship funds provide financial support to students attending college.
- Unrestricted funds: An unrestricted fund distributes grants at the discretion of the GACF board of trustees. These types of funds give us maximum flexibility to address changing community needs as they arise.
Name Your Fund
One of the most exciting ways you get to customize a fund when you establish it is by choosing a name for it. You could name it after yourself, your family, or a loved one you want to honor. Or you could name it descriptively to explain what organization or cause you want it to benefit.
Set a Fund Duration
Your new fund can be endowed or non-endowed. An endowed fund is designed to last forever. It distributes only a portion of its assets each year, and the rest remains invested to grow over time. A non-endowed fund is designed to be temporary. Non-endowed funds can distribute up to the entire fund balance in a single year, allowing your fund to make an impact quickly.
Select an Investment Mix
However long you set your fund to exist, you will need to select an investment mix. The mix you choose will determine how your fund’s assets are invested before they are granted out to nonprofit organizations. GACF has several predefined investment mixes for you to choose from.
Donate To Your Fund
Once you’ve customized your new fund to match your charitable vision, we’ll provide an establishing document that reflects your choices. After you sign your establishing document, the last step is donating to your fund. We can accept many different types of assets, including cash, real estate, and stock.
At this point, congratulations! You’ve created a new fund at GACF that will make a difference in our local communities!
Make a Planned Gift
When you give to GACF, you don’t have to give immediately. Instead, you can make a planned gift by naming the Foundation in your will or trust documents.
However you choose to give to GACF, we appreciate your generosity!