Yes! Our staff is highly knowledgeable about a wide variety of organizations and programs in our region. We are happy to discuss your charitable giving goals and provide recommendations for how best to achieve them. Depending on the scope of the assistance provided, your fund may be assessed an additional fee for advising services. We will work with you to figure out the best options based on your needs. If you would like to work with us to identity potential grant recipients, please contact Donor Services at 202-955-5890 or [email protected]. You may also contact your donor services representative - see a full staff list here. 

You, or others you have named as fund advisors, may recommend grants from your fund at any time. You can submit a recommendation online through Donor Central. There is no limit to the number of recommendations you may submit each year.

Donor Central allows you to access your fund electronically to make grant recommendations, view your fund balance, track your fund activity, and download your fund statements. 

Once you’ve logged in to Donor Central, click on “Recommend a Grant” in the top navigation, then search for the organization with the optional parameters provided. If the organization is already in our system, then click on the “make a grant” button next to the name of the organization. If the organization is not in our system, click on “continue to a blank grant recommendation form.” Complete the information on the following page, click save, and hit submit on the next screen!   

If you do not already have a Donor Central account, please contact Donor Services at 202-955-5890 or [email protected], or contact your donor services representative.

The minimum grant allowed is $250.

Grants must be made to qualified charitable organizations: those defined as tax-exempt public charities under sections 501(c)(3) and 509(a)(1) of the IRS Code, such as nonprofit public charities, private schools and universities, and religious institutions. We encourage you to invest in the Greater Washington region, but you may suggest a grant to a public charity anywhere in the U.S.

Grants may be made for charitable purposes to non-qualified public charities or entities using enhanced due diligence and documentation requirements. In this situation, the minimum grant amount allowed is $5,000 and an additional one-time fee of $500.00 per grantee per project will be charged to your fund.

If you have a question about a specific organization, please contact our Grants Manager Kathy Matthews at (202) 263-4773 or [email protected] for more information.

Grants to international organizations that meet the same qualifications as 501(c)(3) organizations are permitted. However, we are required by the IRS to complete a more detailed due diligence review of foreign organizations before the grant is made. Thus, grant processing time may take several more weeks and additional fees will be charged to the fund making the grant request. Non-U.S. charities will be required to sign a written grant agreement and submit follow-up reports spelled out in the agreement.

Yes — with some important conditions. IRS Notice 2017-73 clarifies that a grant from your donor-advised fund (DAF) will not be treated as a prohibited benefit to you simply because you have made a pledge to the same organization — including your alma mater, house of worship, or another nonprofit you support.

To recommend a grant in connection with a pledge, three conditions must be met:

1. No reference to the pledge. The Community Foundation cannot reference your pledge when making the grant — not in the grant purpose, check memo, or any accompanying correspondence.

2. No more-than-incidental benefit. Neither you nor any family member may receive a benefit of financial value as a result of the grant — such as event tickets, tuition payments, or auction items.

3. No additional charitable deduction. You may not claim a deduction for the DAF grant, even if the recipient organization mistakenly sends an acknowledgment. Your deduction was already taken when you contributed to your fund.

One important note: because the Community Foundation holds legal control over your fund's assets, you cannot make a pledge that legally binds the fund. Your personal pledge commitment rests with you as an individual — grant recommendations are always subject to the Community Foundation's review and approval.

Yes. Multiyear grants are not pledge payments but rather a method to simplify administration. We can put your grant on a payment plan subject to the availability of funds. At the time of your recommendation, please indicate that you wish the grant to be made in increments and specify the timeframe. When the grant is initially approved by The Community Foundation, the entire grant amount will be applied against your fund balance. We will administer the distribution and payment schedule for you.

No. Donor-advised fund grants must go to organizations recognized by the IRS as public charities.  

No. Donor-advised fund assets are 100 percent charitable (gifts received by The Community Foundation receive the maximum tax advantages allowed by federal tax law), and no part of a grant may be used to pay for any tangible benefit. All grant letters indicate that the donor should not receive any benefit for the grant.

No. These are not permitted under IRS regulations.

No. IRS regulations do not allow this.