Congratulations on planning for a new chapter in your philanthropy. Read about the benefits of establishing a fund here. Peruse our various funds, and give us a call so that we can help you find the right kind of fund to match your needs, interests, and preferences.

Designated Funds

With a designated fund, you can support the good work of a specific program or nonprofit of your choosing. The fund you establish provides a specific organization with a permanent source of reliable funding, investment management services, and planned giving support. Because we handle the details of the fund, your designated nonprofit is freed up to focus on its mission. Here’s more on designated funds.

Donor-Advised Funds

Donor-advised funds make philanthropy easy and fun because you are involved in the grant-making. You establish the fund with a tax-deductible gift, and then recommend how the money should be distributed to charity each year. Our Board of Directors approves recommendations on a quarterly basis. If you have a range of community interests, a donor-advised fund is an ideal vehicle for fulfilling your charitable wishes. It’s also a great way of involving family members in philanthropy; you can name multiple people as the fund’s advisors, including one succeeding generation. Download our fact sheet on donor-advised funds, and our comparison of private foundations to donor-advised funds for more information. You can also click here for more information on donor-advised funds.

Field-of-Interest Funds

With a field of interest fund, you pick your favorite, general charitable cause or field of interest, and leave the grant-making to us. You can target the fund to address any number of community needs: arts, health care, seniors, poverty, the environment… you can even identify a geographic focus, such as Corolla or Stumpy Point. Then our board awards grants to the nonprofits that are making a difference in the area you select. Your gift stays flexible enough to meet community needs in your interest area — even as they change over time. Here’s more on field-of-interest funds.

Nonprofit Funds

When your nonprofit establishes a fund with the Outer Banks Community Foundation, your organization is creating a reliable, easy source of income for itself and a vehicle for your donors to contribute legacy gifts. We offer both nonprofit endowment funds (permanent funds which can distribute up to 5% of the average fund balance each year) or non-endowed investment funds (which your organization can spend down to $0 at any time). Your nonprofit receives cost-effective investment management, exposure in the Community Foundation’s literature, and all of our accounting and administrative services related to that fund. Our staff is also available to help facilitate complex and/or planned gifts to your fund. Here’s more information on nonprofit funds at the Community Foundation.

Scholarship Funds

These are our most popular fund type, making the Outer Banks Community Foundation the largest scholarship provider in our area. Although most of our scholarship funds target graduating high school seniors, you can establish a scholarship fund to help students at any grade level, from kindergarten to PhD. You can choose the name of the scholarship, the eligibility criteria, and the award amount. The Community Foundation administers and manages all fiscal aspects of the fund — and, if you wish, the application, selection, and award processes as well. For more information, please read our Scholarship Guide for New Donors.

Unrestricted Funds

A donor who wants to help the community but does not have a specific program or charity in mind can establish an undesignated fund. Because you set no restrictions on the use of your gift, it enables our experienced staff and board to do what we do best — assess community needs and award grants to the nonprofits that undertake our community’s most critical and exciting work. Unrestricted funds help us support long-term solutions for our community; respond quickly to emergencies; and meet the changing social, cultural, educational, and environmental needs of the Outer Banks. Here’s more on unrestricted funds.

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