Start A Fund

Charitable Giving Structured For You

Setting up a fund through the Community Foundation is similar to having your own charitable trust but without the hassle of administration or worrying about governance, where the funds are going, recruiting trustees, producing audited accounts and reporting to regulators. We take care of that.

It’s quick and easy to start and whatever your reasons or motivations for giving, we’ll ensure your fund is future proof, suits your wishes and your circumstances. With access to our expert team, deep community knowledge, research and advice on giving we’ll guide you through options of privacy or receiving public recognition and getting regular feedback and reports on how you’re changing lives and making a difference.

We have two main types of fund: endowment and flowthrough.

Endowment:

A longer term fund where we invest your gift to set up your fund and you donate the interest it generates every year to the causes and places you care about. Endowment funds are in perpetuity and over time the amount you will give to charity through your endowment will surpass your original donation, making it a lasting legacy from you to your community for generations to come.

Flowthrough:

Usually spent down over a shorter term, we hold your gift in cash to support the causes you care about in the year(s) ahead. To keep your flowthrough fund going, you’ll need to add to your fund in future years.

For both endowment and flowthrough funds, we have options for how these can be set up to suit your changing circumstances including combination funds and built in flexibility to change the issues and causes you support as you develop your giving and passion for a particular social issue. For more information get in touch.

To start a fund:

To start a fund through the Foundation we recommend a minimum gift of £50,000 for a flowthrough fund or £200,000 for an endowment fund. From time to time we have access to match funding which when added to tax efficient giving can substantially increase the value of your fund and ultimately the impact on charities and social need across Northern Ireland.

Giving Together:

If you, your family or your business are passionate about a particular cause or a particular place but you’re not ready to start your own fund, you can pool your giving with others through the Community Foundation.

We already have a number of Thematic funds in support of emerging and existing social needs today which you can contribute towards and support.

Find out how Giving Together works.

What our funds have achieved

McCall Foundation

Inspired by philanthropists like ‘Chuck Feeney’ and Warren Buffett, Northern Ireland businessman Mervyn McCall and his wife Wilma set up the McCall Foundation becuse they wanted to give something back.

Thomas Devlin

Providing a bursary scheme that aims to support gifted young people with exciting and unique opportunities to develop their skills and talent in music, the arts and drama.