Donor Advised Funds can impact our communities for generations

Do you have a passion for your community and want to make a lasting impact? Donor Advised Funds are one of the most flexible and impactful ways to support the causes you care about, today and for generations to come.  A Donor Advised Fund is a charitable investment account that allows you or your family to contribute cash, securities or other assets to a DAF while claiming immediate tax deduction.

With charitable assets held in Donor Advised Funds reaching record high levels in recent years, there is a growing opportunity to ensure these resources are actively supporting communities instead of remaining idle. Community foundations can lead the way in unlocking these resources — and the Community Foundation of Southern New Mexico is completely focused on doing just that.

Our team works closely with donors to connect their passions with local nonprofits and projects throughout Southern New Mexico. We ensure that funds are awarded by DAFs annually and that funds are not unused.

Donors may choose to establish an endowed Donor Advised Fund, creating a permanent source of charitable support that can continue for generations. Families often use these funds to build traditions of giving, allowing children and grandchildren to carry forward the values that matter most. Others prefer a non-endowed fund, which provides the flexibility to contribute and recommend grants that respond to community needs year after year.

Community Foundations and commercial gift fund providers are not the same. As a community foundation, we are dedicated to strengthening the communities we serve. We invest in local nonprofits through grants, provide professional development for nonprofit leaders, convene organizations working toward shared goals, and help smaller nonprofits accept complex charitable gifts they may not otherwise have the capacity to manage. Administrative fees from our Donor Advised Funds help support these services, allowing us to reinvest in Southern New Mexico and advance a more vibrant, resilient, and thriving community.

Commercial gift funds, on the other hand, are typically affiliated with larger, for-profit investment managers. They don’t offer the same types of programs as community foundations, nor do they know the local nonprofits they make distributions to or the communities those nonprofits serve. Their value proposition is providing low-cost, fee-for-service to their clients. It’s simply a different business model.

Unlike many donors advised fund sponsors, the CFSNM team offers a personal, locally informed service that can enhance your giving, such as:

·       Local expertise on community needs, nonprofit effectiveness, and high impact grantmaking

·       Deep engagement in specific issue areas, including educational opportunities and hands-on involvement for you and your family

·       Impact measurement support to help you track and communicate the outcomes of your giving

·       Assistance building giving traditions with family philanthropy options

·       Family and corporate philanthropy services to foster long-term, multi-generational charitable engagement

·       Successor advisors allow grantmaking to go out to several generations

·       Administrative fees that are reinvested in the community, supporting local operations and amplifying the community foundation’s mission

·       Direct access to local experts who can research and recommend causes aligned with your clients’ goals

Our staff has deep roots in Southern New Mexico and strong relationships with the nonprofits and community leaders working to address our region's greatest needs. We understand the issues facing our communities and are here to help connect your passion with meaningful opportunities to give. To learn how you can create lasting impact in Southern New Mexico through the Community Foundation of Southern New Mexico, visit www.cfsnm.org or call 575-521-4794.

Dr. Terra V. Winter is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Community Foundation of Southern New Mexico.