Frequently Asked Questions

We work with individuals, families and organizations to create endowment funds and donor advised funds that provide recurring financial support for charitable organizations and causes, within our community and worldwide. The Foundation retains professional investment advisors who work closely with the Foundation’s Investment Committee to guide the management of funds according to our investment management strategies and policies. On a bi-monthly basis, the Foundation processes and administers donor recommended grant distributions to donor designated charitable organizations.

A Donor Advised Fund can help you budget your philanthropic dollars and streamline your giving. You can make a large donation in one year, then recommend grants for several years after to your favorite charitable organizations.

An Endowment Fund is a permanent fund, designed to continue generating grants into perpetuity. Once the money is deposited in an Endowment it must follow a preapproved spending policy, currently distributing 4% of the fund annually. In this way, the fund will continue to benefit a nonprofit in perpetuity.

A quasi-endowment fund is a fund that functions like a permanent endowment fund but is not legally restricted in the same way. Quasi-endowments are invested funds that can be used to support an organization’s programs and services. A spendable amount is calculated each year for use by the organization which is four percent (4%) of the three-year average balance in the fund. 

However, the principal can be liquidated, unlike a permanent endowment, with approval by the organization’s board as established in an approved spending policy and by the Foundation board. The organization maintains the asset value, but the Foundation manages the fund, providing guidance, reporting, and security of the funds.

JCFW has numerous grants and scholarships available. To begin the process, please contact Michael Ellison, Executive Director, at michael.ellison@jcfwest.org

Participation in the Foundation offers many benefits, both to individual donors and to the community as a whole.

A donor-advised fund will allow you to simplify your charitable giving. This type of fund provides you with the ability to easily budget and manage your annual contributions to the charities of your choice. All that you need to do is make one contribution to the Foundation to open your account, at which time you will receive your full tax deduction. You maintain control and flexibility over the distribution of your funds, plus you can distribute your funds in whole or in part at any time by using your donor portal.

By using the Foundation as a vehicle for your giving, you are adding resources to both the Jewish and secular communities. Our mission of helping the community raise funds to support key programming and operations is supported by our donors’ participation in the Foundation.

While the Foundation requires a minimum of $10,000 to create an endowment fund, a donor advised fund can be opened with only $1,000. By initially opening a donor advised fund, dollars can be put aside and saved over the course of time to raise the value of the fund. Once the $10,000 goal is reached, the donor advised fund can be “rolled over” to become an Endowment.

A true sign of a mature organization is the ability to establish a permanent endowment fund. Because an endowment provides a permanent source of income, organizations can be less financially dependent on fluctuations in membership or donations. Plus, the Foundation can participate by helping to build strategies for growing your endowment.

Consider these tools for helping to build an organizational endowment:

• Bequests or Legacy Gifts
• Endowing Dues Program
• Designated Giving

By participating in the Jewish Community Foundation of the West, your dollars are doing double duty. Investing with JCFW creates benefits for the Jewish community on the whole through access to better interest rates, lower fees, and better service from the financial world. In addition, the Jewish Community Foundation of the West employs an Executive Director who works to help our institutions create and implement long-term financial plans for stability and growth. When the Foundation is successful, the community is successful.

Another benefit of giving through the Foundation is the additional oversight of your charitable dollars. We can help ensure that your donations are being used by a charity in the way you intended.

Finally, endowing your gift to a charity will allow your donation to live in perpetuity. Rather than making a single gift, your endowment will continue to support your chosen program or organization forever.

Several Jewish organizations in Sacramento have endowment funds and donor advised funds managed by the Foundation. Many of these funds were created to benefit services and programs in the greater Sacramento community that are fundamental to core Jewish values and beliefs. You can contribute to any of these pre-existing funds to help accomplish the mission of the organization or fund.

You can also donate to the Jewish Community Foundation of the West’s unrestricted endowment fund, which is intended to become a community grants program.

Below is a list of our policies:

• Account Management Policy
• Donor Data Privacy Policy
• Distribution Policy
• Endowment Spending Policy
• Gift Acceptance Policy