How to Start a Fund
The Prosperity Foundation (TPF) was founded on the BOLD idea to create a comprehensive public charity, community foundation that exclusively focuses on supporting Black people and communities in Connecticut. TPF leverages existing philanthropic tools such as donor-advised funds and giving circles to bring Black people together to address issues that uniquely affect our communities. We encourage you to start a fund with TPF to support initiatives and programs relevant to our community.
Figure Out Your Fund Goal
Determine what or who you want to support. Do you want to support a local non-profit? Raise money for an educational program or scholarship fund? Or, make a gift for TPF to determine its management and distribution? There are so many options for you to choose from! (Click the green button on the left-hand side of the screen to learn about different types of funds).
1
2
Submit an Inquiry to Start a Fund
Now that you've identified the basics of your potential fund, it's time to submit an inquiry on our website.
Have a Consultation
3
After you submit your form, we will reach out to you to set up a meeting with a TPF Team Member and discuss more details about your fund inquiry. In a 1-hour consultation, we will discuss fund types, gift options, your liabilities, and how TPF can support and manage your fund.
4
Establish the Fund
After all details have been discussed and agreed upon, TPF will create a link to your fund on our Donate page.
Types of Funds
Organization Fund
Organization Funds are for nonprofits that wish to have a portion of their charitable assets managed according to a long-term investment model alongside an established endowment for The Prosperity Foundation. A charitable organization can participate in this commingled fund by entering into an investment management agreement, which identifies the nonprofit as the owner of the charitable assets. With TPF, nonprofit organizations can be certain that their assets are managed according to industry standards and best practices.
Permanent Organization Endowment Fund
Permanent organization endowment funds are established from a gift of a donor or donors or by an irrevocable transfer of assets from an organization to establish a permanent component fund of The Prosperity Foundation for the benefit of an organization of the donor's choosing. TPF can facilitate complex forms of giving, such as planned gifts or gifts of appreciated stock or real estate. The donor benefits from TPF's investment stewardship and endowment management experience.
Donor Advised
A donor-advised fund is like a charitable investment account, for the sole purpose of supporting charitable organizations you care about. When you contribute cash, securities, or other assets to a donor-advised fund at a public charity, like The Prosperity Foundation, you are generally eligible to take an immediate tax deduction. Then those funds can be invested for tax-free growth, and you can recommend grants to virtually any IRS-qualified public charity.
Designated Funds
Establishing a Designated Fund allows you to give back to one or more specific organizations of your choosing. This type of fund not only provides funding but benefits from The Prosperity Foundation’s investment stewardship and the ability to manage endowment funds. Because The Prosperity Foundation handles the details, recipients of the Designated Fund can focus on its mission.
Preference Fund
By establishing a Preference Fund, your gift addresses a broad range of local needs - including future needs that often cannot be anticipated at the time your gift is made. While you direct the purpose of a Preference Fund, the maintenance is left up to The Prosperity Foundation. Our professional staff consistently monitors changing community needs, to ensure that grants made in the name of your fund will make the most impact in your preferred area, in turn, creating your personal legacy of giving.
Scholarship
​By creating a Scholarship Fund, you are investing in your community's future and helping students, from preschool to postgraduate, achieve their lifetime dreams. Scholarship Funds are typically created as a memorial for someone special, in order to exemplify said person's goals and values, or created as a way to express your personal, family, or business’s educational values. Depending on your preferences, the scholarship you establish can support any area of academic need, such as tuition, room and board, and books.
Unrestricted Fund
By establishing an Unrestricted Fund, your gift addresses the evolving needs of TPF because there are no restrictions on the use of your gift. The Prosperity Foundation will assess community needs and respond by awarding grants to the nonprofit organizations that expend financial resources to the community’s health, education, and economic development. The flexibility of your unrestricted gift enables TPF to support long-term solutions; respond quickly to emergencies; and meet changing social, cultural, educational, or environmental needs in our local community.
