Establishing a Fund

The Community Foundation works closely with individuals, their professional advisors and businesses to facilitate charitable giving. One of the many ways donors can support their community is by establishing a fund within the Foundation.

Setting up a fund at the Community Foundation is actually very simple and straightforward. Establishing a fund at the Foundation is an excellent alternative to creating a private foundation, cutting down on expensive overhead costs and benefiting from the Foundation's qualified and trusted investment team. The Community Foundation for Kingston & Area offers many different types of Funds, each designed to offer something different to our donors to suit their philanthropic objectives the way they wish.

If you are interested in establishing a fund at the Community Foundation, please contact Executive Director Vikram Varma by phone at 613.546.9696 or by email at vikram@cfka.org to determine what kind of fund meets your wishes best.

Community Funds
Community Funds are endowed funds made up of gifts of all sizes. Unrestricted gifts allow the Foundation to respond with the greatest flexibility to our community's needs and changing priorities. The interest from your gift - much like a permanent community savings account - provides the venture capital to address long-term problems and solutions; to respond to new and emerging needs; to promote excellence; and to support the Foundation's eight grantmaking sectors. A dedicated and experienced Grants Selection Team works closely with local organizations and advisors to recommend grants that will have a lasting impact.

Donor Advised Funds
Donor Advised Funds give donors the chance to participate in the grantmaking process. Working closely with the Foundation's staff and Board of Directors, donors may identify and recommend specific charitable organizations they want to see benefit from their fund.

Donor Designated Funds
Donor Designated Funds allow donors to name one or more charitable organizations to benefit from the income generated by the fund as listed in the Agreement. This allows donors to choose their favourite registered charities and provide a lasting gift.

Field of Interest Funds
Field of Interest Funds let donors specify a field of interest to be supported without naming individual charities. By defining the charitable field, grants from these funds benefit the donor's areas of interest while continuing to be adaptable to best serve the community's needs. Grants are awarded by the Foundation's dedicated Grant Selection Team.

Memorial Funds
Memorial Funds may be established in the form of any one of the above fund types in the memory of an individual or family. The grants awarded may be unrestricted to adapt to the communities needs, advised by one or more people or designated to the donor's favourite charity or interest. Often, these funds are established with larger gifts coupled with smaller donations received in response to obituary notices.

Scholarship Fund
Scholarship Funds are established in the name of the donor or in honour of an individual or business, and are used to support the educational costs of deserving students.

Agency Endowment Funds
Agency Endowment Funds are established to support specific organizations, allowing them to benefit from the long-term stability of an endowment fund and the Foundation's investment expertise. More about Agency Endowment Funds can be found here in our Grantseekers section.