Types of Funds> Designated
Helping local organizations sustain and grow
Establishing a Designated Fund allows you to support the good work of a specific nonprofit organization—a senior center, museum, or virtually any nonprofit charitable organization. Because it’s given through your community foundation, your gift provides the organization not only funding, but also the power of endowment. Your gift provides more than just funding—your favorite organization will benefit from your community foundation’s investment stewardship and help with administrative details.
You can add to the fund at any time. If the organization you select ceases to exist or changes in mission, the fund can be redirected so that it continues to address your original charitable intent. Designated funds are a way you can provide a steady, long-term source of income for one or more nonprofits you care deeply about.
Designated funds are great for donors who know exactly which nonprofits they would like to support and do not feel the need to be actively involved in grantmaking. Additionally, designated funds are favored by individuals and families who want to leave a legacy gift supporting specific nonprofits they care about, and for memorializing those who had a particular cause they were passionate about.
Once a donor establishes a designated fund, grants are made regularly to the nonprofit they have designated. Funding is dependent on the amount in the fund and based on a schedule created when the fund is established. The original donors and other community members can make additional contributions to the fund at any time and in any amount. The funding provides the nonprofit with a sustainable and dependable source of support.
List of Current Designated Funds held:
Barnard Family Charitable Fund (Established to benefit a variety of charities)
Paul and Bea Axelsen Shirley Doane Senior Center Fund
Paul and Bea Axelsen St. Joseph’s Catholic Church Endowment Fund
Paul and Bea Axelsen Mayo Health Clinic System (Red Cedar)
Dunn County Historical Society Endowment Fund (Established by Dwight Agnew)
Denise and Bob Sedlack Menomonie Public Library Fund
Dunn County Veterans Memorial Endowment Fund (Established by the community)
Friends of the Hoffman Hills Recreational Area Fund (Established by Richard & Marianne Hoffman and added to by donations from the community)
Grace Episcopal Church Endowment Fund (Established by Charles & Pat Kell)
John Houle Memorial Fund (Established to benefit the Menomonie Public Library)
Wilson Place Mansion Fund (Established by the Dotseth Family)
Donor Story: A source of strength and stability
John M. Houle Memorial Fund Benefits Menomonie Public Library
John M. Houle grew up in Menomonie, graduated from Menomonie High School, and attended UW-Madison before joining the U.S. Navy, becoming a naval aviator. After WWII and the Korean War he returned to school, ultimately earning a Master’s Degree from UW-Stout and his PHD from UW-Madison. John returned to Menomonie and joined the faculty of UW-Stout.
John passed away in 2011 and as many knew he “loved to read and had an insatiable thirst for knowledge.†As an avid reader, the Menomonie Public Library was very important to him. Several years ago John worked with the staff of the Community Foundation of Dunn County and made provisions in his Will to establish a fund to benefit the Menomonie Public Library. The fund is permanently endowed so that only a portion of earnings from the fund will be distributed to the Library each year as a gift in John’s memory.
After learning of Mr. Houle’s bequest, Ted Stark, the Library’s Executive Director said, “John was known as an avid library user. Many of the staff knew him well from his daily visits. He made great use of our resources and it is testament to his love of libraries, reading, and life-long learning that he created this gift Library and our users.â€
John Houle’s legacy will live on in the community so that future generations may enjoy the many benefits of the public library that he enjoyed throughout his life in Menomonie. John truly made a gift that will keep giving many times over.
There is so much more we’d like you to know. For more information and ideas on ways to integrate your financial planning with charitable giving, ask your financial advisor or contact the Community Foundation.