Become an Agency Fundholder

A CFNF Agency endowment is a fund which is kept in perpetuity to provide invested earnings for the benefit of the nonprofit organization for which the fund was established. An endowment fund grows through gifts from donors, contributions from the organization itself, and investment income.

An Agency endowment can be established by any qualified charitable nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization.

Organizations with strong leadership and management, financial stability, a committed and diverse pool of donors, board and staff committed to the effort, and the capacity to engage in this long-term fundraising strategy are the best candidates for endowment development.

An endowment provides an additional source of annual revenue to an organization for assisting with operations, programs or unanticipated needs, if necessary.

A minimum gift of $10,000 is required.

The annual administrative fee for an Agency endowment is based on the balance of the fund as follows:

$50,000 + = 1.5%

Under $50,000 = 1.75%

Under $10,000 = $175  

The fee for any fund above $3 million will reduce as follows:

$3-6 million = 1.0%

$6-9 million = 0.8%

$9-12 million = 0.6%

Above $12 million = 0.4%

Investment Fee

Each fund pays a pro-rata share of the investment costs (approximately 94 basis points) annually. 

NOTE: All investment returns are reported net of investment costs.

The Community Foundation of North Florida can accept a variety of gifts from your donors to your organization’s endowment fund. Learn more about Charitable Gift Types

When a gift is received by CFNF for the benefit of an Agency endowment, our CFO will send an email notification to the Executive Director/President of the nonprofit organization receiving the gift. This email will provide the donor’s name (unless the gift is given anonymously) and contact information as well as the gift amount.

The Community Foundation of North Florida uses the Fund Advisor Portal, an online portal which allows fundholders to login and view account activity, annual spending balance amounts and download quarterly fund statements. Once a fund is established, online access is given to the Executive Director/President and Finance Director/Bookkeeper of the Agency.

Annual spend balances are calculated at the end of the calendar year and are based on a board approved spending policy, currently 4%. To request available funds, the Agency must complete and submit an distribution request form to CFNF. Upon receipt of the request and after CFNF board approval, the request will be processed in the next grant cycle.

The Community Foundation of North Florida partners with Commonfund, founded in 1971 as an independent asset management firm focused on not-for-profit institutions and now manages over $25 billion in assets, including 431 foundations. Commonfund is one of North America’s leading investment firms for education endowments, foundations and philanthropic organizations. Their only business is investment management, and they are active in all sectors of the global capital markets, both public and private, serving a broad spectrum of investors, including nonprofit organizations, healthcare organizations, family offices and pension plans.