Make a Donor Advised Fund Recommendation

Existing Donor Advised Fundholders may use the form below to recommend distributions from your fund to organizations.

If you’re interested in establishing a Donor Advised Fund or would like to have a conversation about about different the many other types of funds and ways to give through the Foundation, please contact our President & CEO, Sara Bell at 828-859-5314 or sbell@polkccf.org.

Details & Instructions:

Name of fund: All fund names have been revised to include “Donor Advised Fund” which helps the recipient organization know how to acknowledge the gift since a tax deduction letter has already been provided to you by the foundation for the gift to this fund.

Addresses: If you are suggesting a gift to a well-known local organization, there is no need to add a complete mailing address. The address information helps our staff to confirm that we are sending a check to the organization you intended to support. We would appreciate it if you add a town or city to local recipient organizations to help us confirm the organization.

Pledges: We cannot fulfill pledges of financial support you have already made in your own name. Your status as a donor to the Polk County Community Foundation enables you to receive maximum tax benefits because you have given up absolute control. Since a pledge (of any kind, either verbal or written) may be legally binding, our approval of your pledge payment recommendation might indicate that you as a donor still exercise a measure of control or receive a personal benefit. Therefore, the deductibility of your initial gift to your donor advised fund may be questioned by the IRS. To avoid this issue, please do not make pledges or use your personal assets to honor your pledges.

You may tell an organization that you plan to recommend a grant from your donor advised fund.

Personal Benefits: United States tax law does not permit the use of charitable dollars for goods given to you or services rendered to you, such as memberships or tickets to benefit dinners or galas. IRS regulations prohibit the use of donor advised fund grants for donations that are partially charitable and partially personal benefits, even if the recommended grant is only for the charitable portion.

Local Grants: Please note that at least 75% of your total distributions from donor advised funds must be to organizations determined by the Foundation to be located in, and primarily or exclusively serving the residents of, the Polk County and Landrum areas.

You may recommend grants to organizations outside our community; however, these must be grants of $250 or more payable to 501(c)(3) organizations.

Please be aware that it takes considerable time for new organizations to be evaluated and approved by our committee and board.

If you have any questions regarding these funds, please contact the President & CEO, Sara Bell at 828-859-5314 or sbell@polkccf.org.

Thank you for supporting nonprofits in our community.