[logo] East Tennessee Foundation

Advantages of Giving Through ETF

The Foundation is a resource for East Tennesseans and a vehicle to assist individuals, families, and corporations to realize their philanthropic dreams. The Foundation offers:

Flexibility

Funds can be established with a variety of assets, including cash, appreciated securities, real estate, life insurance, retirement funds, certain business interests, and private foundation transfers. Individuals or corporations can design a fund exactly tailored to their charitable interests.

Tax Benefits

The East Tennessee Foundation is recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a publicly-supported charity, which means donors receive the maximum tax advantages for income, gift and estate tax purposes.

Convenience

Setting up a fund at the Foundation takes only a few minutes and involves only one document. The Foundation handles tax filing, audits, record keeping, investments, and reporting. We do the work and leave the joy of giving to the donor.

Legacy

The Foundation offers permanence and the opportunity to teach younger family members how to give. Donors' wishes can continue far into the future and donors can involve children and grandchildren to help carry on the charitable work.

Professional Management and Accountability

All assets are managed by professional money managers who are monitored by a volunteer committee of local professionals and by the Board of Directors. An independent auditor provides an annual accounting of all funds and practices.

Privacy

For donors or families wishing privacy, the Foundation offers anonymous grantmaking.

Cost Convenience

If each individual fund had to recreate our services, the price tag would be prohibitive. The Foundation pools investments to achieve reduced management fees. A small professional staff reduces administrative costs. This leaves more money for charity.

Community Impact

The Foundation offers expertise in community needs. Donors can take advantage of this knowledge of regional concerns to make more informed decisions about charitable giving.

Becoming a Donor

Types of Funds

Assets in the East Tennessee Foundation are commingled for investment purposes, but are accounted for separately. Just as there are sports cars, trucks, and family sedans at a car dealer or sportswear, professional, and evening wear at a clothing store, there are different categories of funds making up the Foundation. Whether donors are committed to one organization, one broad cause, providing a college education, or meeting unexpected challenges, the Foundation provides a vehicle to transform those commitments into grant dollars.

Seven Types of Funds

  • Opportunity Funds
  • Field of Interest Funds
  • Donor Advised Funds
  • Affiliate Funds
  • Scholarship Funds
  • Designated/Agency Endowment Funds
  • Supporting Organizations

Opportunity Funds

Opportunity Funds are unrestricted funds, allowing ETF to make unscheduled grants when an opportunity arises. Most Foundation grants are restricted to a particular cause, nonprofit organization, or county. Opportunity Funds allow ETF to say "YES" when a worthwhile request comes to our attention that our regular grantmaking cannot fill.

Field of Interest Funds

Field of Interest Funds support competitive grant making in broad charitable areas such as arts and culture, community development, education, or youth-at-risk.

Donor Advised Funds

Donor Advised Funds offer donors the most flexibility and involvement in their giving. Benefits include the ability to recommend grants to the ETF Board of Directors, to teach philanthropy to children by naming them successor advisors, and to benefit from the ETF staff's knowledge of needs in our region.

Affiliate Funds

A community, county, or regional fund may choose to affiliate with East Tennessee Foundation to create a local presence and mechanism for philanthropic giving and grantmaking in a specified geographic region.

Affiliates

  • Fund for Campbell County
  • Fund for Cocke County
  • Clinch-Powell Community Fund: serving Grainger, Claiborne, Hawkins, Hancock and Union Counties
  • Johnson County Community Foundation
  • Fund for Greene County
  • Rogersville Hawkins County Education Fund
  • Kingsport Community Foundation
  • Fund for Etowah and McMinn County
  • John D. Grubb and Louise G. Sumner Fund for Monroe County
  • Harris Fund for Washington County
  • Fund for Unicoi County
  • Elizabethton/Carter County Community Foundation

Scholarship Funds

Please see our scholarship page for specific scholarship information. Scholarship Funds can memorialize or honor a loved one, commemorate a graduating class, assist with a particular college major, or benefit students from disadvantaged areas. ETF staff assists with establishing the guidelines and performs all required scholarship administration.

Designated/Agency Endowment Funds

Designated/Agency Endowment Funds provide an ongoing source of support for East Tennessee’s many nonprofit organizations. Donors may establish an endowment for their favorite charities or the organization itself may endow a fund. These funds provide security and stability to enhance the good work of an organization.

Supporting Organizations

Supporting Organizations operate as separate 501(c)(3) nonprofits with their own by-laws, charter, and board of directors. They operate to "support" the work of ETF. The Foundation appoints a majority of the board, includes the Supporting Organization in its audit, and performs other duties as agreed upon. Supporting Organizations are a great alternative to private or family foundations whose assets would be $2 to $10 million.

Back to the top