Field of Interest Fund

How a Field of Interest Fund can Connect Personal Values to High-Impact Opportunities

By establishing a Field of Interest Fund, you can target your gift to address needs in an important area of community life. Arts, youth, aging, and health care are but a few possibilities for a Field of Interest fund. Our board awards grants to community organizations and programs that are making a difference in the area you select. Your gift remains ﬂexible enough to meet community needs in your interest area — even as they change over time.

How it works

• You identify an area of personal interest as broad or narrow as you wish.

• You make a gift to your community foundation during your lifetime or through a bequest in your will. You can give cash, appreciated stocks, real estate, or other assets.

• We set up a special fund in your name, in the name of your family or business, or in honor of any person or organization you choose.

• You receive tax beneﬁts in the year your gift is made.

• Our professional program staff evaluates needs in your area of interest that would be most impacted by grants from your gift.

• Our board issues grants in the name of the fund you establish (if you prefer, grants can be made anonymously).

• We handle all the administrative details.

• Your gift can be placed into an endowment that is invested over time. Earnings from your fund are used to make grants addressing community needs. Your gift — and all future
earnings from your gift — is a permanent source of community capital, helping to do good work forever.


	A Personal Mission Unforgotten Field of Interest Fund Example When they lost their daughter, Susan, to cancer, the Perez family received hundreds of contributions. Susan had been a high school teacher, so many of the contributions came from fellow teachers and from parents of the students whose lives she had touched. “Susan cared so deeply about her work,” says Mrs. Perez, “and we wanted to use the money to continue in that spirit of helping children through their education.” The Perez family spoke with their local community foundation and decided to establish the Susan L. Perez Education Fund, a Field of Interest Fund that memorializes their daughter by supporting local educators and students. “We chose to begin this kind of fund because education is so dynamic,” says Mr. Perez. “We realize that we aren’t always aware of what our school system needs and how it works, and we wanted to be sure that, even years from now, grants made in Susan’s name make the most sense for our community.”