Name: Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation
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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.

What a Community Foundation Does

A community foundation brings together the financial resources of families, individuals and organizations who care about a specific place and then invests those resources back into the community. At the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation, we serve our communities by providing financial support though grantmaking, support to nonprofit partners and assistance to donors fulfilling their giving goals. Learn more about what a community foundation is in this short video.

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.

1. We offer our donors a personalized level of service tailored to their 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 them, their family and their 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.

Meet Our Local Team

2. We provide donors 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.

See Nonprofits We Fund

3. We provide donors 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.

Previous Giving+Together event topics include:

Bridging the Justice Divide
Welcoming Our Newest Minnesotan: Afghan Refugees
Preserving the Mighty Mississippi
Early Childhood Education

See Upcoming Events

4. We can help donors manage their 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 online donor toolkit offers donors unique resources to support their giving journey with interactive ways to craft their charitable giving vision and legacy.

View Donor Resources

5. We accept 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.

Gifts of Real Estate

Real estate can be used to create a significant charitable legacy. It is one of the most beneficial charitable gifts for both the donor and the nonprofit.

Learn More