Why HCF – For Charities

ABOUT US

HURONIA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION IS A REGISTERED CHARITY AND HOME TO OVER 80 UNIQUE FUNDS ESTABLISHED BY LOCAL CHARITIES AND COMMUNITY-MINDED PHILANTHROPISTS.

Established in 2000, Huronia Community Foundation (HCF) was incorporated as Canada’s 99th Community Foundation. We were started by a group of local individuals who had a vision to provide financial support to our community forever by developing giving strategies based on endowment funds held in perpetuity.

DID YOU KNOW?

As a charitable organization, you can set up your own agency endowment fund with HCF that will benefit your charity forever. By using campaign funds or a gift from a major donor, you can contribute funds to start your own endowment. Over time, you can continue to grow your endowment with additional contributions to create a financial bedrock for your agency. No matter how large or small the fund is, the contributions are invested in perpetuity with HCF, and the income from the endowment fund will ensure a consistent and permanent stream of funding that you can count on year after year.

You can build trust with your donors by establishing an endowment fund. The endowment fund is a positive asset that shows that you intend to be around for a long time. Furthermore, through an endowment, donors now have the opportunity to provide a gift knowing that it will benefit your charity forever, instead of just addressing the immediate needs.

HOW WE CAN HELP

No need to get bogged down with the day-to-day administration and costs (lawyers, fund managers and accountants) associated with managing your own fund. We at HCF do it all for you! By creating an agency endowment fund with HCF, you benefit from the knowledge that your agency’s fund will be pooled with the rest of our funds to obtain the preferential treatment that your agency deserves, while lowering your administrative costs and reaping the benefits of working with us.

As part of our low administrative fee, we provide a number of benefits to charities when you establish an agency endowment fund with us:

• Reduced administration costs – you build the fund and we’ll do the rest
• Pooled funds providing access to a solid investment strategy executed by professional money managers with exceptional purchasing power
• Processing of donations to the fund received by cheque, credit card or through other ways donors can give, including gifts of securities
• List your agency fund on our website and give the opportunity for your donors to conveniently contribute online
• Provide back office support for issuing tax receipts directly to your donors for donations received by the fund
• Regular reporting of your funds activity
• Feature the creation of your agency’s fund in our publications
• Expanded reach of your agency via promotion throughout the area and beyond via social media
• Annual disbursement back to your charitable organization for you to determine how to use

NEXT STEPS

Once you’ve decided that an Agency Endowment Fund is the route to go, we’ve made it easy for you. The following are the 5 main steps to establish an endowment fund with HCF:

Note: Only Charities registered with the Canada Revenue Agency may start a charitable endowment fund with Huronia Community Foundation and you must commit to a minimum contribution of $10,000 over 5 years.

1. Call Huronia Community Foundation and discuss your desires to establish an agency fund with us
2. Determine the name of the fund you wish to create (a named agency fund requires a $10,000 minimum donation over 5 years)
3. Approach your Board of Directors seeking approval to set up an agency endowment fund (HCF can help you with this as required)
4. Have your Board of Directors pass a resolution to set up an Agency Endowment Fund with HCF
5. Your Agency’s signing authorities will need to sign the agreement with HCF

That’s it, you’re done… Once HCF have completed their part, you can start promoting the fund. We handle all the administrative details – so that your organization can focus on its mission. The earnings from your fund are distributed back to your organization annually, helping you to continue the work you do in the community.

FORWARD THINKING CHARITIES

Some of the local charities that are planning for the future by holding endowment funds with Huronia Community Foundation include:

• Askennonia Seniors Centre
• Catholic Family Services of Simcoe County
• Chigamik Community Health Centre
• Community Living Huronia Foundation
• Gateway Centre for Learning
• Hospice Huronia
• Huronia Community Players
• Penetanguishene Library
• Sistema Huronia Music Academy
• Town of Penetanguishene
• Wendat Community Programs