Comparing Funds

Comparing Funds

HCF offers four types of funds to assist you in designing a charitable giving plan that is exactly suited to your needs and interests..

Unrestricted Fund
An unrestricted fund is your broadest option.  With an unrestricted fund in your name, you can reach out to all of the charitable organizations serving the Hudson Community with a focus on:

• Youth Education and Recreation
• Arts and Culture
• Hudson Social Services
• Historical and Environmental Preservation

HCF grants funds to those charities and causes that best meet the community’s most pressing needs as those needs change over time. By making a gift or bequest to create an unrestricted fund, you can create a living legacy in your name that will grow and change as the community does.

The unrestricted fund is best suited if:

• you want to have the broadest impact on the community over time.

• your motivation is to “give back to the community” rather than to support a particular charitable organization or cause.

• You have broad charitable interests or are considering creating a private foundation for broad charitable purposes.

• You recognize that community agencies and community needs change over time and you want your philanthropy to remain relevant and flexible to respond to those changes as they evolve.

 

Field of Interest Fund
Field of interest funds allow you to address a cause of particular importance to you without being locked into naming specific charities.  HCF identifies important needs in the community which may be targets of your philanthropy including:

• Youth Education and Recreation
• Arts and Culture
• Hudson Social Services
• Historical and Environmental Preservation

In addition you can specify your own field of interest.  You name the purpose of the fund; HCF’s Board identifies the charitable projects that can most effectively accomplish your goals at any given time.

The field of interest fund is most appropriate if:

• You have an abiding interest in a particular charitable cause rather than specific organizations.

• You recognize that charitable organizations may change their mission and effectiveness over time, or they may loose their charitable status.

• You want knowledgeable and professional help in carrying on your philanthropic interests after your death.

• You are considering creating a private foundation to support a particular charitable cause.

 

Donor Advised Fund -  see Comparison
The Donor Advised Fund is HCF’s most flexible fund.  Under the donor-advised fund option, you create a fund in your name without naming any specific charitable institutions. Instead, you retain the right to advise HCF on all your charitable affairs, including where the assets will be custodied, who will manage the investments, who will receive grants from your fund, and finally who will take over as your successor when you die. Because HCF is public charity, you enjoy the best tax benefits available.  You can take your time to recommend what charitable organizations or causes you want to support.  Since HCF handles all the administrative matters, you are free to do what you enjoy most  – support your favorite charities. Through your Donor Advised Fund, you now have a simple, smart and meaningful way to practice family philanthropy.

The Donor Advised Funds should be considered if:

• You want maximum flexibility to give to varying charities or to change beneficiaries over time.

• You want your spouse, children, and grandchildren to be involved in your family’s legacy over successive generations.

• You currently make cash gifts to numerous charities but would benefit by giving appreciated property instead.

• Your income fluctuates but you want to maintain a steady level of charitable giving.

• You are considering a private foundation.

 

Designated Fund
In the Designated Fund, you name a particular charity or charities to benefit from the fund. Each year, HCF distributes grants to those charities according to your specifications and HCF’s spending policy.  You have the assurance of knowing that, if the organization you selected ceases to exist or the purpose of the grant cannot be met, HCF’s Board will preserve your original intent by redirecting the fund toward the closest similar use.

The designated fund is ideal if:

• You want to make a substantial gift to a charity that does not have a professional investment management capability.

• You want to make a substantial gift to a new, small, or struggling organization.

• You wish to support a particular charity but want third-party oversight to ensure that the gift is used as you intend it to be used.

• You want to support several named charities through one substantial gift.