Form 990
Form 990 is the informational "tax return" filed with the IRS by organizations that are exempt from federal income tax.
Form 990-T
The Form 990-T is the IRS’ Exempt Organization Business Income Tax Return. It is required to be filed by any exempt organization that has unrelated business income, which may be generated by assets gifted to the Foundation or from certain activities deemed to be unrelated to the Foundation’s exempt purpose. GCF also makes its Form 990-T available for public inspection.
Audited Financial Statements
The Foundation publishes an abbreviated financial statement in its printed annual report. A complete audit report for the most recent year is available here.
GCF is a charitable organization, and is not a commercial money manager. The Foundation's longstanding practice allows donors to select an investment management firm (from the list of firms with which GCF has relationships - see "Investment Firm Relationships tab below)) for a fund when it is established.
A donor may also recommend an asset allocation structure when establishing a fund, and annually thereafter. The asset allocation should reflect the grantmaking goals for the fund.
Flexible Investment Options to Meet Your Charitable Goals
In general, the Foundation offers four investment options for establishers of donor advised funds and non-spending-policy restricted funds (including designated and scholarship):
- Balanced (over 20 individual investment managers, with different styles, to choose from)
- 50% Equity Mutual Funds/50% Bond Mutual Fund
- 100% Fixed Income (Bond Mutual Fund)
- 100% Fixed Income (Money Market Fund)
It is important to note that the Foundation provides different asset allocation options so that the investment structure of a fund can be tailored to the donor’s grantmaking plans. Therefore, all endowed funds (those subject to GCF’s 5% total spending policy) will be invested in a balanced pool.
GCF has cultivated relationships with multiple investment firms, each with their own unique strategy. The Foundation’s Investments Committee sets the investment policies that are followed by all such firms. The Foundation’s staff can assist in choosing an investment manager whose philosophy best meets our donor's needs.
In keeping with the perpetual nature of the Foundation, GCF monitors the investment performance of all its relationships with a view toward long-term return. The following are the balanced pool investment returns for each of the Foundation's relationships. Keep in mind that these returns should be viewed with a long-term mindset. In many cases, GCF's investment managers are given discretion over asset allocation (including, for instance, the level of investment in technology stocks) and style preference (i.e., a value- or growth-based investment approach). Both of these factors may affect investment performance.
Merrill Lynch Community Charitable Fund Program
GCF also participates in the Merrill Lynch Community Charitable Fund (MLCCF) Program, through which donor advised fund assets are invested by Merrill Lynch. GCF's overall performance for its MLCCF investments was approximately -10.51% year to date (net of fees). A quarterly summary is available for investment performance results of individual pools of the MLCCF program.
GCF is not an investment manager. The Foundation has established investment agency relationships with the firms listed below, and GCF regularly monitors the investment performance of those institutions.
When a fund is established, GCF gives the donor the opportunity to select which of these advisors will invest the fund assets. The firms and institutions that currently manage assets for GCF are:
Bahl & Gaynor, Inc.
Robert W. Baird & Co., Incorporated
Bartlett & Co.
Commonwealth Financial Network/Principled Wealth Advisors
FEG Managed Portfolios
Financial Management Group
Foster & Motley, Inc.
Haire Bohmer
Huntington National Bank
Index Mutual Funds (Custodian Fifth Third Bank)
Johnson Investment Counsel, Inc.
JP Morgan/Chase
Key Trust Company of Ohio, N.A.
Legacy Financial Advisors
Lenox Wealth Management
Lincoln Financial Advisors/Sagemark Consulting
MCF Advisors LLC
Merrill Lynch
North Side Bank and Trust Company
Oxford Financial
PNC Bank, N.A.
Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory, LLC.
RiverPoint Capital Management Investment Advisors
Truepoint Inc.
UBS Financial Services, Inc.
U.S. Bank, N.A.
Wachovia/Wells Fargo Securities
Also please see GCF Tools, Forms & Resources on Gift Acceptance, Sample Fund Agreements and Fee Schedules.