When a Gift Is a Legacy

As a former schoolteacher, Joyce Leonard understands how hard teachers work, under what challenging circumstances, and for what scant pay. That’s why, when the IRS allowed people age 69 ¹/2 to make tax-free rollovers from their IRAs into donor designated funds, Joyce knew what she wanted to do. She withdrew $100,000 from her IRA and opened a designated fund to benefit the Lafourche School Education Foundation. Her gift will be used to honor outstanding teachers in elementary, junior and senior high schools.

 
       “I know from my years of teaching what a difference an extra $50 or $100 can make,” she
           says.
  “Teachers get paid very little, so every little bit helps.”

 
       Because her fund is endowed, it will provide a financial award to outstanding  
  teachers in perpetuity, and that makes Joyce very happy.

       “It’s what I wanted to do with my money,” she says. “My husband and I are comfortable. Our  
  children are educated and grown. This is a way that I could give back to the
  community in an area where the money is needed.”

       “Teachers are important, and this guarantees there will always be money available to honor
  them. I trust the Greater New Orleans Foundation to see to that.”

What is a Designated Endowed Fund

It is a type of fund that enables you to support specific nonprofit organizations, wherever they are located. It might be an organization where you volunteer, or one that has benefited you or a family member, or possibly a school you attended. And if, in the future, the organization no longer exists or no longer offers the programs you intended to support, the Foundation will identify another nonprofit that meets your charitable goals.

By establishing a Designated Fund, you benefit from the Foundation’s investment expertise and monitoring services, ensuring that grants will be made to the charitable organization of your choice or for the purpose you intend long into the future.

A Designated Fund is a Way to Give That is:

·      Personal: You ensure that an organization(s) that has special meaning to you can receive support for many years to come.

·      Flexible: You, or others, can add to the fund whenever you want. Greater New Orleans Foundation can accept almost any asset, including stock and real estate.

·      Enduring: Because it is an endowment, it ensures that the organization(s) you choose will receive support in perpetuity.

·      Efficient: The Foundation keeps track of your donations and will provide you with quarterly statements of the fund’s activity. The Foundation utilizes money managers for the assets and manages regular payments to the designated charity.

·      Fast: A Designated Fund can be set up in a matter of hours.

Who is it for?

A Designated Fund is ideal for families and individuals who:

·      Have a special relationship with an institution that they would like to support over a long period of time.

·      Would value seeing their charitable assets managed by the Foundation to help ensure growth and the availability of more grant dollars.

·      Value knowing that even if the particular charity is no longer operating or has changed its mission, the Foundation will carefully identify another group that meets the donors’ charitable intentions

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