When you give through the Idaho Community Foundation, you become part of something bigger than any one individual. You join a family of people who care deeply about Idaho and are committed to doing great things together for their community.
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Donor Resources
Community Funds and Giving Circles
Local residents join together to create a fund that supports the community they love.
Designated Funds
Established by a donor to forever support one or more of their favorite charities; annual distributions are made to the named beneficiaries.
Donor Advised Funds (Endowed)
Donors annually select beneficiaries and may change them from year to year.
Donor Advised Funds (Non-Endowed)
Similar to the Donor Advised Endowed Fund but the entire fund balance is available for annual distribution. Donors annually select beneficiaries and may change them from year to year.
Forever Idaho Funds
Donors choose to support ICF’s statewide initiatives, a region of Idaho (East, North, South Central or Southwest) or a particular cause. Your gift is combined with others for maximum charitable impact.
Organizational Funds
Established by a nonprofit to forever support their mission; annual distributions are made to the nonprofit to be used as their board deems appropriate.
Scholarship Funds
Donors customize a scholarship for graduates of a certain school, for studies in a specific field or programs at a particular education institution. The donor may play a role in the selection process.
Special Project Funds
ICF acts as a fiscal sponsor for a charitable project, handling the administration and management of funds; distributions are made to complete the project.
Why Choose the Idaho Community Foundation?
It’s easy. The Idaho Community Foundation works with individuals, families, businesses and nonprofits to create charitable giving funds that are flexible, easy to establish and accomplish your philanthropic goals.
Your giving will make a bigger impact. Your charitable giving fund will be invested according to your timeframe and goals. And because we are a nonprofit, your contributions will be eligible for a tax deduction and/or tax credit in the year you give.
We’re local. Our staff all live in Idaho and can provide local expertise about issues and needs. We love Idaho just as much as you do.
Your family can participate. You, your children, grandchildren or all of you together can experience the joy of making a difference in the lives of others. We have family philanthropy certified staff who can design a plan to meet giving goals across generations.
Connect with our Giving Team
208-342-3535 or
Frequently Asked Questions
Giving through ICF is more than a financial transaction. Our staff have a deep love for Idaho, and we can help you succeed in your philanthropy. Your giving experience through ICF will be rewarding, fun and easy.
A charitable giving fund at ICF allows you to be strategic with your giving. You’ll have opportunities to use ICF’s deep community knowledge to give to the organizations that will meet your philanthropic goals.
A single large gift can be an administrative burden to an organization and distract from their ability to accomplish their programmatic work. Grants from your charitable giving fund can be distributed over time and the recipient will be able to rely on the funding year after year.
ICF completes due diligence before we distribute grants. If the community organization(s) ceases to exist or is not in good standing as a qualified nonprofit, we will share that information with you. For funds created by estate gifts, we will find a replacement(s) doing similar work in the same community. You don’t have the same guarantee when you make a large, direct gift to an organization.
People who create a Donor Advised Funds (DAF) at the community foundation are active and engaged in their community. They come to us because they want to deepen their understanding of community needs and connect with the organizations making an impact.
Giving through ICF is more than a financial transaction. Our staff have a deep love for Idaho, and we want to help our donors succeed in their philanthropy. We make the giving experience rewarding, fun and easy.
An important distinguishing feature of a community foundation is “variance power,” which gives a community foundation the ability to change the charitable purpose of a fund if circumstances have sufficiently changed to make the original restriction inappropriate.
The easiest case for exercising the variance power is when a charity that was the beneficiary of a designated fund goes out of existence. Through its monitoring function, a community foundation can exercise the variance power if it determines that a charity has significantly changed the nature of its operations. It can also exercise the variance power if the purpose becomes obsolete, for example, a trust to fund research to find a cure for polio or cancer after a cure is found.
Variance power is given to community foundations by U.S. Treasury Regulations.
Our Investment Subcommittee and investment consultants are experienced, dedicated professionals who ensure our charitable investments are managed responsibly. Learn more about our financial stewardship.
An ICF fund can be established quickly if you know your charitable goals and which assets you will use to create it.
Yes.
The Idaho Community Foundation has a Confidentiality Policy that states we will not discuss or disclose donor records, donor financial statements or any other information without the authorization of ICF’s President/CEO or the President/CEO’s designee.
Yes, anyone can make new donations at any time of any size. All donations are eligible for a tax deduction.
Any qualified nonprofit public charity, schools and some governmental entities may receive grants.
For Designated and Forever Idaho funds, we will continue to follow the instructions listed in the fund agreement.
For endowed Donor Advised Funds, you may name successor advisors to make grant recommendations and continue your family’s legacy of giving. Or you can convert your Donor Advised Fund to a Designated or Forever Idaho fund upon your passing.
For non-endowed Donor Advised Funds, any remaining fund balance will be distributed according to the instructions you provided when you established the fund.
If your children are 18 or older, you can name them as advisors on your Donor Advised Fund. You can also name them successor advisors.