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Here are several benefits of working with a community foundation to reach your charitable goals.

There are many avenues to choose from when carrying out your philanthropic goals, and choosing your local community foundation offers some unique benefits. Unlike most national providers, community foundations offer strong connections to the communities they serve, in addition to various giving options.

Role of a Community Foundation

A community foundation brings together the financial resources of families, individuals and organizations who care about a specific place and then invest those resources back into the community.

At the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation, we serve our communities by providing financial support through grantmaking, support to nonprofit partners and assistance to donors fulfilling their giving goals. Learn more in this short video.

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Top Five Reasons to Work with a Community Foundation

Now that you know what a community foundation is and does, here are five unique benefits to partnering with a community foundation to achieve your charitable goals.

  • Personalized service
  • Community expertise
  • Education and learning opportunities
  • Manage a long-term legacy
  • Donate a variety of assets

1. We offer a personalized level of service tailored to your needs.

You don’t have to call a 1-800 number to get in contact with an advisor. At the Foundation, each donor is assigned a dedicated philanthropic advisor who works with you, your family and your professional advisor to provide a customized giving plan.

For example, when Caroline wanted to talk about her hopes and dreams for her donor advised fund, she knew she could call her philanthropic advisor Aurea for support.

“We just felt an immediate connection with each other,” Caroline says.

2. We provide you with localized community expertise.

The Foundation makes grants to many of the same nonprofits our donors support. Our philanthropic advisors work closely with members of our Community Impact team, who have relationships with nonprofits across the state.

Their deep understanding and knowledge of organizations specific to Minnesota allow our team to provide personalized nonprofit recommendations that align with donors' interest areas.

3. We provide fundholders with education and learning opportunities.

Our frequent educational events highlight emerging and changing needs important to our communities. We bring our donor community together through events like our Giving+Together series, and donors can identify the best way to achieve their charitable giving goals.

Giving+Together event topics include current issues like:

  • Democracy and Civic Engagement
  • Access to Childcare
  • Food Insecurity
  • Nonprofit Sustainability

4. We can help you manage your long-term legacy.

With the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation, donors have many options for building a lasting legacy.

Whether it’s creating a donor advised fund through their estate or using beneficiary designations, donors work with our gift planners to identify the best way to carry out their philanthropic goals. We are the perfect partner to help manage a meaningful and lasting charitable legacy.

Our donor toolkit offers donors unique resources to support their giving journey with interactive ways to craft their charitable giving vision and legacy.

With my passion to support affordable housing in the Twin Cities and with it being time to sell the rental house, it just made sense to donate the house and use the proceeds to support other affordable housing projects.

KJ, Fundholder

5. You can donate a wide range of assets.

In addition to accepting gifts of cash or stock, we also accept a range of non-cash assets such as real estate, closely held business assets, life insurance, farm assets and more. Our gift planners can help donors and their professional advisors identify which assets would be best to give.

To learn more about the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation, as well as the benefits of partnering with a community foundation, contact one of our gift planners to see how we can work together to help you achieve your charitable goals.

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