Donor Advised Funds

We promote stewardship as a way of life

Donor Advised Funds

Another way to remember the Church (diocese or parish) with one’s gifts of assets.

How do they work?

Donors establish an account with the Catholic Foundation by opening an endowed or provisional donor advised fund (DAF).
Periodically the donor(s) contact the Catholic Foundation and recommend that a grant be made. With an endowed DAF, only earnings may be distributed on an annual basis. The principal (or corpus) can never be distributed. With a provisional DAF, both earnings and principal may be distributed and this may be done on up to a quarterly basis.
A minimum of 50% of each grant from donor advised funds must be given to agencies of the Diocese of Rockford. The remainder of each grant, 50% or less, may be given to other qualified 501(c)(3) charities of the donor’s choice. No grants will be made to organizations that violate the moral principles and teachings of the Catholic Church.
Grants cannot be used to satisfy an existing Diocesan or parish pledge.

Benefits to donors include:

Accounts can be established in the donor’s family name, allowing loved ones to be memorialized.
They are easy to establish with none of the administrative headaches and fees of private family foundations.
They are flexible and allow the donors to recommend grant recipients; both within the diocese as well as with other charities they may wish to support.
Donor’s can temporarily “park” charitable dollars at the end of a tax year and receive a charitable tax deduction in the year they make the gift(s).
Donors can add to their fund at any time and receive the satisfaction of seeing their fund accomplish its objective during their lifetime.
DAFs can be endowed, allowing donors to recommend grants of earnings only or provisional, allowing donors to recommend grants of both earnings and principal.

Additional information / Application:
(in Adobe Acrobat (pdf) format)
Donor Advised Fund Policy
Donor Advised Fund Application
Donor Advised Fund Distribution Request

If you have unanswered questions or want someone to contact you about a gift to your parish or school, please Contact Us!

Notice: The Catholic Foundation for the People of the Diocese of Rockford does not provide tax or legal advice. Please consult your attorney or tax advisor prior to entering into any gift planning arrangement.