For Professional Advisors

  • The following are just a few of the many reasons it’s important to discuss giving with your clients.

    • Benefits can extend beyond the specific cause to the entire community.
    • Many clients are seeking a way to express gratitude or appreciation for places and causes they care about.
    • Clients want the ability to give on their own terms, whether privately or publicly.
    • Helping clients give can create a bond, making you a positive stakeholder.
    • You cultivate a new area of professional expertise.
    • Clients you assist in giving may be motivated to refer new clients to you who want to do the same.
    • By making it easy to give, you serve your community as well as your clients.
    • You become part of a supportive network of like-minded colleagues willing to share their time and expertise.
  • As a member of the community, we know local issues and leaders, and how to bring government, community and nonprofit players together in meaningful ways. Using us as a resource for giving makes everything simpler and easier for you and your clients. Our purpose is to provide support and expertise, so we can work entirely in the background or we can attend every meeting with you—it’s up to you and your client.

    The Foundation is a cost-free resource for charitable and estate planning and we’ve been working with professional advisors since 1989. When legislative or tax changes impact your clients, we’ll keep you informed.

  • If any of the following points describe your clients, they may benefit from knowing more about CFOC. We’d be happy to help you introduce them to our work.

    • Care deeply about the local community
    • Contribute to more than one charitable cause
    • Want to create a legacy in the community for their family or themselves
    • Have an interest in forming a private foundation, but are concerned about cost and administrative complexity
    • Require a say in how gifts are used
    • Expect sound financial management for gifts, as well as maximum tax benefits
  • We offer the maximum charitable tax advantages available by law. is The Foundation is not subject to the taxes and regulations affecting private foundations, and we have greater flexibility on matters such as minimum payout, so more money goes toward the cause.

  • We offer a variety of fund options, including: unrestricted, designated, scholarships, donor advised, committee advised, field of interest, organization endowment, charitable unitrust, community service/nonprofit support and build a funds.

  • If you want to discuss the many benefits of charitable giving with your clients without recommending specific causes or organizations, the Foundation is a simple solution. A community foundation provides a single, trusted place where clients can address issues they care about, while gaining the maximum tax benefit under state and federal law. We offer many giving options, including the ability to set up a fund in your client’s name or company name. Clients can suggest grants to the nonprofit of their choice each year, or select one or more organizations to give to, perpetually.

  • Although some donors want to give directly to a particular organization, many are more comfortable giving through us because of our permanence, professional investment management, and oversight role in ensuring that their wishes are met by the recipient organizations.

  • Your client can support a favorite charity through either a donor advised fund, or a designated fund. We handle all of the administration, recordkeeping and financial statements for both options. With donor advised funds, donors have direct control and decide which organizations and programs receive grants. Designated funds provide endowment funding for a specific nonprofit organization and can be set up to allow building of the fund over time. Each year, the fund’s earnings can be distributed to the nonprofit or kept for future use.

  • Your client can recommend a grant to any organization that falls within the broad mission of the Foundation and is qualified as a public charity under Section 501(c)(3) of the IRS code.  We ensure that groups recommended for a grant meet this requirement. Due to federal tax laws, we must reject grant recommendations that would benefit a specific individual, fulfill a personal obligation or support a political campaign or private foundation.

  • We are focused on the needs of Oceana County, but we allow grants from donor advised and designated funds to any 501(c)(3) nonprofit in the U.S.

  • In most cases, the minimum for establishing a fund with us is $5,000. Scholarship funds require a minimum gift of $10,000. You can also create a Build A Fund and make periodic contributions until your fund reaches the desired amount.

  • We accept a range of assets including: cash, stocks and bonds, real estate, personal property such as jewelry and artwork, life insurance policies and IRA assets.

  • Nothing. Starting a fund is free of cost. Our annual fee structure depends on the type of fund and ranges from 1.0% to 2%. The Foundation uses these fees to support our overall operations.

  • Our fees are highly competitive with commercial gift funds and considerably less expensive than starting a private foundation. We handle all administrative tasks, including filing annual tax returns, performing due diligence on grants, and all details associated with processing and tracking grants—and there are no setup fees. We offer you all the options of your own private foundation, but without the hassle extra cost.

  • Although giving may be an essential part of any financial plan, there are times when you may need some recommendations on the best ways to begin that discussion. Just give us a call. We can provide a variety of suggestions on how you can get that conversation started.

  • Donor information is highly confidential. We do not share donor names, addresses or fund-related financial information with any individual or organization without express permission from the donor.

For Donors

Some of the questions most frequently asked by our donors are answered for you here.

Learn More

For Grant Applicants

Find out who is eligible for grants from the Community Foundation for Oceana County.

Learn More

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Every gift makes a difference.
Where and how is up to you.

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