About Our Funds
Efficient, effective, impactful. There are many benefits for donors and nonprofit organizations who work with the Rancho Santa Fe Foundation to achieve their charitable goals. You are able to maximize giving through the expertise of our locally staffed professionals, excellent investment stewardship and dedicated community leadership.
Donors can choose from a variety of charitable funds, such as a donor advised fund or an endowment fund, when establishing a charitable giving fund with the Rancho Santa Fe Foundation.
Our funds opened by Individuals and Families include:
- Donor Advised Fund
- Designated Endowment Fund
- Field of Interest Endowment Fund
- Scholarship Fund
- Legacy Fund
- Community Impact Fund
Our funds opened by Nonprofits include:
Charitable Funds Opened by Individuals and Families
What is it? A donor advised fund enables you and your family to make grants to the charitable causes and organizations of your choice. Our professional staff can help you identify the most effective nonprofits addressing the causes you care about. Here’s how it works:
- Make a contribution to establish the fund and receive a full tax deduction.
- Distribute the money in the fund, which grows, tax-free, to your chosen charitable organizations over time.
- Make additional tax-deductible gifts to the fund at any time.
The Benefits:
- Tax benefits
- Simplicity & privacy
- Invested funds
- Variety of assets may be contributed to open the fund
Learn more about what these benefits mean and entail here: Why Open a Donor Advised Fund.
To get started, simply contact us.
What is it? A designated endowment fund supports one or more nonprofits of your choice. You may designate a particular charitable organization as the recipient of all charitable grants from this fund.
The Benefits:
- Multiple donors can contribute.
- It provides support for current needs, as well as long-term sustainability for the selected organization.
Contact us to learn more.
What is it? A field of interest endowment fund supports an area of interest without naming specific nonprofits. You direct the RSF Foundation to limit the use of this fund’s income and assets to a broad charitable purpose you care about, such as education, youth or health-based charities.
The Benefits:
- Multiple donors can contribute.
- Unlike the designated endowment fund, you don’t need to select a specific organization(s).
- It provides sustainable philanthropic support for causes you are passionate about.
What is it? A scholarship fund supports qualifying students on their path to academic success. You can honor a teacher, coach or mentor by creating a scholarship fund in their name or memory. This will further their reach by supporting the next generation of leaders through academic scholarships.
The Benefits:
- Multiple donors can contribute.
- It offers the opportunity to honor a teacher or mentor who has changed your life, while directly impacting lives of youth in need of a scholarship.
To learn more or start your scholarship fund today, contact us.
What is it? A legacy fund provides a holding place for your charitable legacy gift. You simply direct the RSF Foundation on how to steward your charitable legacy when the estate matures.
The Benefits:
- You plan ahead for how your charitable assets will be directed in the future.
- It can be established with various types of assets.
- It provides sustainable support for organizations that benefit the community.
Learn more at our Legacy Council Page.
What is it? The Community Impact Fund provides a permanent source of community capital for granting to nonprofits in San Diego County. You contribute charitable dollars to an endowed fund at the RSF Foundation to be directed to the Community Impact Fund. These funds enhance the capacity of the RSF Foundation to strategically direct grants to the community’s greatest and most pressing needs.
The Benefits:
- The Community Impact Fund offers the potential for greater impact because multiple donors giving together through Community Impact Grants can do more than most individual donors could alone.
- New donors can join at any time, adding to efforts already in progress.
Learn more at the Community Impact Fund.
Funds Opened by Nonprofit Organizations
What is it? A Nonprofit Endowment Fund creates a permanent revenue stream for a charitable organization. The principal in the fund is protected, and the fund provides a maximum 5% annual payout. You can provide for long-term sustainability and demonstrate fiscal responsibility for your organization by planning for a secure financial future.
The Benefits:
- Multiple donors may contribute.
- Organizations may establish multiple endowments.
- It provides long-term sustainability and revenue for a nonprofit organization.
Learn more (and even get started) at our Nonprofit Endowments page.
What is it? A NonProfit Non-Endowment Fund meets the immediate needs of a young and growing organization. You can provide for the short-term needs of an organization by allowing access to the full amount of assets in the non-endowment fund.
The Benefits:
- Multiple donors can contribute.
- It is ideal for young organizations in need of access to assets to cover immediate needs for success and growth.
- It can support a special project at your organization.
- It can be a way to start a fund that could be endowed in the future.
To learn more and get started, contact us.
What is it? Scholarship, Honorary or Memorial Funds support qualifying students on their path to academic or professional success. You may honor a significant person involved with your organization by naming a fund after them. This not only carries on their name and memory, it supports the next generation of leaders.
The Benefits:
- Multiple donors can contribute.
- It offers the opportunity to honor a member of your organization and directly impact the lives of youths in need of a scholarship.
Learn more about how to start a scholarship fund by contacting us.
What is it? Fiscal Sponsorship provides a structure for an organization’s operations and receipt of tax-deductible donations for the period between filing Articles of Incorporation and receiving 501(c)(3) status.
The Benefits:
- As you receive donations and wait for the IRS determination of your nonprofit status, we handle the back-office administration for you.
To get started, simply contact us.
“We were so close to establishing our own family foundation before realizing that a donor advised fund would provide everything we needed without the cost, hassle and reporting requirements. The RSF Foundation set up our Donor Advised Fund and the rest is history. We now only suggest where our donations are to be sent and the Foundation completes the transaction. Thank you RSF Foundation!”
Judy and Don Oliphant
“RSFF has helped us to manage and invest our restricted contributions in sustainable funding mechanisms that will enable us to continue to support our mission today, and well into the future.”
La Jolla Symphony & Chorus
“The fund with RSFF has allowed the Burn Institute to continue to provide our programs and services to the community as we have done over the past 50 years. Because of this investment, the Burn Institute can carefully grow these programs and strategically focus safety messaging on concerns relevant to our Southern California communities.”
Burn Institute
