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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

First, are you wondering what a community foundation is? 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 local community — the East Metro and all of Minnesota — by assisting donors in planning and fulfilling their giving goals, investing in nonprofit partners through grants and capacity-building resources, and partnering with others on community initiatives to make Minnesota better for all who call it home. Learn more 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.

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.

Meet Our Local Team

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.

See Nonprofits We Fund

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

See Upcoming Events

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 — and it may be easier than you think.

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

Two of our donors, Scott and Kathy, decided to donate their house in their will to a charitable fund with the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation. This generous gift will benefit The Friends of The Saint Paul Public Library and continue to invest in their local libraries' children’s programming for generations.

Create Your 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.

Download our Giving Guide

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

The Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation does not provide tax, legal or accounting advice. Please consult your own tax, legal and accounting advisors regarding your individual situation before engaging in any transaction.

This post was originally published on Nov. 16, 2022, and updated on April 30, 2024.

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