Tools, Forms and Resources

Gift acceptance policies

Gifts to GCF may take a variety of forms. Many are outright gifts by living donors. Some are bequests or testamentary gifts that take effect upon the donor’s death. Others are different forms of deferred or split-interest gifts. In keeping with its official gift acceptance policies, The Greater Cincinnati Foundation may accept the following types of contributions:

Cash
Publicly-Traded Securities
Tangible Personal Property
Life Insurance Policies
Real Property
Closely-Held Stock and Partnership Interests

The Foundation reserves the right to refuse any proposed gift. In conformity with Treasury Department regulations governing community foundations, gifts to GCF may not be directly or indirectly subjected by a donor to any material restriction or condition that would prevent the Foundation from freely and effectively employing the transferred assets, or the income derived therefrom, in furtherance of its exempt purposes.

For more information about GCF’s Gift Acceptance Policies and Procedures, contact VP for Giving Strategies Amy L. Cheney, CPA at 513-768-6134 or cheneya@gcfdn.org

Spending policy

GCF applies a “spending policy” to most endowed funds (i.e., most funds except donor advised funds). The spending policy defines the amount of money that can be disbursed from a fund each year. The goal of the spending policy is to position the funds to maintain a balance between long-term investment growth and annual grant distributions. The spending policy accomplishes two important goals. First, the “purchasing power” of the endowment (i.e., corpus adjusted for inflation) is maintained, and this preserves a fund’s ability to meet the future needs of the community. Second, application of the spending policy reduces the endowment’s vulnerability to significant fluctuations in the stock and bond markets. By averaging market values over an extended period of time (i.e., 20 quarters; see below), the endowment is less affected by sharp, short-term market fluctuations. This allows for steadier levels of spending and continued growth – both of which may be advantageous to the beneficiaries of the fund over the long term. The grant recipients’ budget planning and forecasting abilities can be significantly enhanced by this methodology.

The Foundation’s spending policy defines the total amount available from a fund in a given year (the “distributable income”) as five percent of the fund’s average market value over the preceding 20 quarters. GCF performs the annual distributable income calculation in January of each year, based on the January 1 market value of the fund.

If the fund has not existed for five years at the valuation date, the calculation is based on all quarters for which market value information is then available (but see exception below). The Foundation’s service and investment management fees are paid annually from the distributable amount (see Service and Investment Fees for more information), and the balance is available for grantmaking.

It is important to note that for all new funds subject to the spending policy, there must be at least four quarters of market value history as of January 1 in order for GCF to make the distributable income calculation and begin making distributions. For example, if a scholarship fund is set up on April 1 in Year 1, it will only have three quarters of market value information by January 1 of Year 2, and therefore cannot begin making grants until the following distributable income calculation date, in January of Year 3. If you believe that timing is an issue with respect to a fund that you would like to establish, please let us know and we will discuss available options with you.

For more information about the spending policy, contact VP for Finance & Administration Scott McReynolds at 513-768-6147 or mcreynoldss@gcfdn.org.

Donors and professional advisors can use GCF's standard fund agreement ("Declaration of Gift" documents) to establish any of the four charitable fund types available through the Foundation.

All Declaration of Gift documents must be customized to the individual donor's situation. GCF can help provide language to suit your needs. To discuss the standard Declaration of Gift documents, please contact member of our Giving Strategies Group by calling 513-241-2880.

A sample fund agreement is provided here for a donor advised fund just to show you how easy it can be!

Sample Declaration of Gift for Donor Advised Fund  

The Greater Cincinnati Foundation (GCF) charges fees to each charitable fund established with the Foundation to cover the cost of operating the Foundation (the “Service Fee”) and the cost of investment management services (the “Investment Fee”).

Service fees cover the administration associated with all funds, including: staff consultation, individual fund accounting, fund statement preparation and distribution, contribution and acknowledgment processing, oversight of investment management, grant disbursement processing, grant report evaluation and follow up with grantees, the independent audit and compliance with federal and state reporting requirements. This fee is the primary revenue source for GCF’s operating fund to provide services to donors and the community.

All funds are assessed a minimum annual base service fee of $250. The minimum fee is assessed in December and will only apply if a fund’s normal service fees for the year are below the $250 minimum.

The applicable Service Fee depends on the type of charitable fund the donor establishes. The investment management fee varies by manager (see Investment Firm Relationships). All fees are quoted on an annual basis. Fees are assessed and charged to each fund on a pro-rated monthly basis according to the fair market value of the fund on the last day of each month. GCF assesses and charges the fees directly to the funds, and then distributes the Investment Fee to the appropriate firm.