Grantmaking
Once
your Donor Advised Fund is established, you are ready to begin making
charitable grants. The process for recommending grants is simple:
1. Obtain a Grant Recommendation Form in one of the following ways:
- complete
the grant recommendation form via our online portal - DonorCentral
- use the
paper forms supplied at the time we acknowledged your initial contribution.
- download grant recommendation forms from our web
site.
- contact
AEF and we will mail or fax them to you:
2. Complete
the form and fax, mail, or e-mail it to AEF.
Grant
Eligibility
AEF considers recommendations for grants to any organization it believes
to be classified as a public charity under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal
Revenue Code. Consistent with IRS regulations that apply to all Donor
Advised Funds, AEF cannot approve recommendations for grants:
- to individuals.
- to private
foundations.
- that
satisfy a pre-existing charitable pledge.
- for any
private benefit (e.g. school tuition sent to individuals, dues or membership
fees, benefit tickets, the donor’s time or services, or goods
bought at charitable auction).
- for political
contributions or to support campaign activities.
AEF reviews each grant recommendation to ensure that it complies with
IRS requirements. If there is a problem with a recommendation, we will
contact you immediately. Upon approving a recommendation, we will arrange
to liquidate appropriate Fund investments
for the amount needed. We then prepare a check and send it to the charitable
organization. The transmittal letter that accompanies the check to the
charitable organization is prepared on your Fund’s letterhead. You
receive a copy of the letter that accompanies the check. The charitable
organization also sends you an acknowledgement of the receipt your grant.
We process
grants on an ongoing basis. Normally, AEF distributes checks within a
few days of receipt of your grant recommendation.
Anonymity
You may want to support a charity without disclosing your identity to
the organization. You can choose to do this on all your grants or selectively
by individual grant.
If you have
questions, please e-mail donorsupport@aefonline.org or call American Endowment Foundation at 1-888-440-4233.
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