Setting up a Named Trust Fund

A Named Trust Fund at the Community Foundation works just like a charitable trust. It allows you to support issues and areas of your choosing, but saves you all the trouble of appointing trustees, handling investments and dealing with lots of correspondence. The Community Foundation takes all the hassle out of charitable giving for you!

A Named Trust Fund is set up with a minimum commitment of £15,000 either as one off donation or an agreed series of donations which can be spread over three years.

Named Trust Funds can be both "endowed funds" or "flow though funds" or a combination of the two.

Endowed Trust Funds are invested to allow the initial capital to be at least maintained or grow whilst also producing an annual return to be used for grant making. Endowed Trust Funds therefore provide a long term sustainable source of grant funding.

[Under the Grassroots Endowement Challenge, from Sept 08 to 31 March 2011 we are able to DOUBLE the value of any donations put into an Endowed Fund.   For more information on this please contact Jane Darlington on 01223 410535 to discuss.]

Flow Through Funds have a finite life as the initial deposit is used for grant making.

For both Endowed or Flow Through Funds, donors can choose how their funds are administered with the following possibilities:

Donor Advised Trust Funds

You select the charitable groups supported through your Donor Advised Trust Fund. The Community Foundation welcomes donors' active involvement in grantmaking and provides advice and administration for your fund as required. Such funds may also be set up for specific areas or issues.

Field of Interest Funds

These enable you to support a broad area of need such as young people, the homeless or the elderly. The Community Foundation helps indentify projects in need of support that fit your critieria.

Area Funds

You can nominate a particular geographical area within Cambridgeshire to benefit from your fund.

Unrestricted Funds

These funds are used to respond to emerging and changing community needs. Donors leave decisions to our Board of Trustees on advice from our Grants Panels.

Designated Funds

Designated funds support specific charitable organisations you identify. If, over time, the named charity is no longer active or providing a needed service, another organisation with a similar purpose would be selected to receive the grant.

Serving donors and benefiting the community

The Cambridgeshire Community Foundation exists to serve donors and make charitable giving easier and more rewarding. The examples above show how you might give through the Community Foundation. There are many ways of doing so at different stages in your life. Staff and Board members would be only too pleased to have the opportunity to discuss the best way forward with you.

We never forget that each fund is different and prefer to set the criteria for your fund in consultation with you and your advisors. Please contact Jane Darlington to discuss how to set up your fund.