Hope Foundation

Frequently Asked Questions

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What is the minimum amount needed to establish a donor advised fund? You may open a donor advised fund with a tax-deductible gift of $1,000 or more. The minimum opening balance to have your funded invested is $10,000.

What is meant by having an invested fund? Funds with balances between $1,000 and $10,000 are maintained as cash or cash equivalents. In lieu of administrative fees, any interest income earned on the cash is retained by the Hope Foundation.

An invested fund are funds with balances greater than $10,000. Such funds are invested as the donor chooses in a variety of alternatives including pools of the Longleaf Funds and Diversified Trust Company. A donor with an invested fund greater than $300,000 may choose his own investment advisor. An invested fund is charged an administrative fee.

What are the administrative expenses for an invested donor advised fund? Administrative fees vary with account balances. Funds with balances of less than $10,000 are not charged an administrative fee. In lieu of administrative fees, any interest income earned on the cash is retained by the Hope Foundation.

For fund balances of between $10,000 and $1 million, the fee is charged quarterly at an annual rate of 1.25%. For balances between $1 million and $3 million, the fee is 1%. For balances between $3 million and $5 million, the fee is .75%. For balances above $5 million, the fee is .50%.

Fees charged on invested funds will generally be more than offset by the income and capital gains which are earned and retained by the fund. In addition, since July 1, 2006, fees earned by Hope Foundation are given away to ministries making a difference in Memphis through our Hope For Memphis Fund. So you give twice: once thru your fund and once thru the Hope for Memphis Fund.

What is the minimum balance I must maintain in a fund? There are no minimum balances. However, if a invested fund balance falls below $10,000, it will no longer be invested but retained as cash. Fees will be adjusted as outlined above.

How do I make a grant recommendation from my fund?

These are made easily on-line through this link: Make a Grant Recommendation from a fund at Hope. We also provide a form to budget your grants for an entire year which will also serves as a grant recommendation form for the year.

What agencies or organizations are eligible to receive grants from a donor-advised fund? Any United States-based agency that is a recognized 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code may receive a grant from a Hope donor-advised fund. However, all grant requests are reviewed and approved by the Grant Review Committee of the Hope Foundation Board of Directors. Organizations openly antithetical to Christian beliefs will not be approved. Grants cannot be awarded to individuals. Donors also may not receive tangible benefits from a grant. These include items such as meals, concert tickets, tuition or museum membership benefits.

May I recommend a grant to pay a pledge I have made to an organization? No. When you make a contribution to a donor-advised fund at Hope, you are entitled to take the full amount as a tax deduction. This is because you have received nothing in return for your contribution. If a grant from your fund satisfies your pledge, you will be receiving something in return for your contribution – the release of an obligation. Therefore, a donor may not use grants from a donor advised fund to satisfy a previously committed personal pledge made to a charity. However, you may qualify your pledge on a signed pledge card by indicating your intent to give by making a request for a grant for a specific amount from your named donor-advised fund.

What is the minimum grant I may recommend? We request a minimum grant recommendation of $25.

How often can I recommend a grant from the fund? You may recommend a grant at any time. Grants are paid every other week except in December when they are paid weekly. Advisors will receive written acknowledgement of all grants after they are paid.

What fee is charged for each grant I recommend? No fees are charged for recommending grants.

How often can I add to a fund? You may add to your fund at any time with a gift of any amount.

What are your gift acceptance policies? Click here to read our gift acceptance policies.

Can I give assets other than cash to a fund? Yes. You may give stock, mutual funds, retirement fund assets, real estate or other tangible property. Gifts of appreciated stock, both publicly traded and closely held, allow donors to receive a tax deduction equal to the stock's appreciated value without payment of capital gains tax.

How do I make a gift of real estate to my fund? A gift of real estate to your donor advised fund should be made prior to the receipt and acceptance of an firm offer, either verbal or written, to sell the property. Otherwise, the Internal Revenue Service may consider the gift a gift of cash which would require the payment of capital gains tax on that portion of the sale donated.

Are appraisals required for gifts of real estate and other tangible property? Qualified appraisals are generally required for gifts of this type valued at $5,000 or more. Please check with you tax advisor for additional information.

Can I remain anonymous when establishing a fund or recommending grants? Yes. Advisors may request that grants be awarded anonymously. You may also choose a name for your fund other than your family's name.

How many advisors can I name for the fund? You are not limited on the number of advisors to a fund. However, we encourage you designate one advisor who is authorized to make grant recommendation.

How often will I receive a statement? Statements are mailed quarterly, usually between 4 to 6 weeks after the end of a calendar quarter.

How can I determine the balance in my fund when I don't have a statement available? Please call or e-mail us at any time to find out the balance in your fund.

What happens to the fund after my death? You have several options:

You may specify which non-profits or ministries you wish to receive the proceeds of your fund.
You may name successor advisors (often children or grandchildren) to recommend grants from the fund.
You may choose to create a Legacy Fund which is an endowed fund to provide a permanent source of annual gifts for recommended charities.
Another option is to name the Hope Board of Directors as advisors who would continue to give as the donor had prior to his death or grant all or part of the fund to Hope's Area of Interest Funds.

What is the Hope for Memphis Fund? The Hope for Memphis Fund was established by the Hope Foundation in 2006 to invest strategically in Christian organizations seeking City transformation: spiritually, educationally, economically, and relationally. The Fund makes grants or loans from the surplus and earnings of Hope and from donations made to the Fund by others. Grant recipients are Christian ministries primarily serving the economically disadvantaged residents of Memphis and the Mid-South region. A primary focus of the Fund is to make grants which empower existing ministries by improving their effectiveness and building their capacity. The Hope for Memphis Fund Committee considers grant applications by invitation only based on pre-selected areas of interest.

What are Hope's Area of Interest Funds? Hope's Area of Interest Funds allow donors to support Memphis area, inner-city Christian ministries in a particular area of interest. The eight Hope Area of Interest Funds are listed below:

Youth Ministries
Family Ministries
Affordable Housing Ministries
Economic Development Ministries
Education Ministries
Health Care Ministries
Sports Ministries
Juvenile Offenders & Prison Ministries

A committee of the Hope Board of Directors administers these funds which are typically distributed over a 1-3 year time period. Based on research done by this committee and the Hope staff, grants are made to those ministries which are deemed to be effective, well-managed and strategic in the building the Kingdom in a particular area of focus in the inner-city of Memphis.

What are the tax advantages of establishing a fund at Hope? Donors who contribute stock and other appreciated assets are eligible for tax deductions and may reduce or eliminate liability for capital gains taxes. It is also useful for tax planning in order to take charitable deductions in years of high income but make grant request in years of lower income or retirement. Donors are strongly advised to consult with their tax advisors or such matters.

Donors may wish to make larger contributions to their fund in their high income years prior to retirement. In this way, donors can take maximum advantage of tax deductions during their highest income-earning years, have it invested tax-free on their behalf, and give it away during retirement when their income is reduced.

Also, there are many ways a charitable fund can help a donor reduce estate taxes, preserve retirement assets for family members and provide gifts for charity. Hope Foundation's professional staff works closely with attorneys, accountants and other advisors to help donors make the best choices for their families.

What are the advantages of establishing a fund at Hope compared to establishing a private foundation? Since Hope is a public charity, there are fewer Internal Revenue restrictions for gifts and grants than for a private foundation. Generally, donors receive a higher tax deduction for contributions. Additionally, donor advised funds are not subject to excise taxes, and they have no payout requirement. An alternative to creating a donor advised fund is establishing a supporting organization at Hope. A supporting organization offers the advantages of a donor advised fund, but it is governed more like a private foundation.

A copy of our most recent audit and IRS form 990 are available on written request.

Privacy Policy

The privacy policy of Hope Christian Community Foundation(the "Foundation") begins with our commitment to protecting individual privacy by not sharing personal information with outside parties.

We limit access to non-public personal information to only those employees, representatives, and agents who need to know in order to produce compliance reporting, service your account, and provide you with a broad range of services and products. Our employees, representatives, and agents are required to maintain and protect the confidentiality of your personal information and must follow established privacy procedures. Donors' names or amounts of donations are not revealed to the Board of Directors of the Foundation. We maintain physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards to protect your personal information.

We strive to keep our donor and agency records complete and accurate. We will give you reasonable access to information we have about you. Most of this information is contained in account statements that you receive from us and applications that you submit to obtain our services. We encourage you to review this information and notify us if you believe any information should be corrected or updated.