Unrestricted giving, the trust factor, and why it matters to your clients

Every day, the team at the Community Foundation works to deepen their local knowledge of the most pressing needs in our community. For 105 years, the Community Foundation has had its finger on the pulse of the changing needs in our region and the best way to address them. Through its convening power and community knowledge, the Community Foundation connects people, ideas and resources to improve lives in Western New York.

As you talk with your clients about their philanthropic plans, keep in mind that many individuals and families establish multiple funds at the Community Foundation to meet all of their various charitable goals. A family might establish a donor advised fund to organize their regular annual giving, making it easy to track gifts of appreciated stock and support for a large number of individual charities. A member of this family might also establish a changing needs fund to address the most critical needs of our community today, tomorrow and forever.

For example, Community Foundation clients John and Elizabeth (Bette) Hulley knew they wanted to support causes important to them, including food insecurity and the arts, and established the John Hulley and Elizabeth Rydzynski-Hulley Fund, an endowed fund, in 2011 that would do just that, in their names, forever.

Recognizing that our region has faced new challenges along the way, in 2019, the Hulleys established a second fund, the Hulley WNY Changing Needs Fund, to support the changing needs of Western New York. Read their story here.

Whatever ways your clients choose to get involved, you’ll know that you and your clients can trust the Community Foundation to make a lasting difference in the community we all love.