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Rose Foundation  •   6008 College Ave. Suite 10  •   Oakland, CA  •   94618   •   (510) 658-0702
Donor Advised: Defining and Implementing
Your Philanthropic Vision
In administering donor-advised funds, the Rose Foundation's goal is to help donors define and implement their own philanthropic vision. Rose's staff will research charities active in any field of donor interest. The Foundation also has a backlog of underfunded, but very worthy requests on hand.

While by law, the Foundation Board must retain ultimate discretion over final grant decisions, our goal is to help each donor develop and sharpen their own philanthropic focus. Within parameters developed in consultation with the donor, Rose will develop funding recommendations uniquely tailored to each donor's personal interest. In addition to facilitating support for community projects, communication with donors has encouraged the Foundation to broaden its own perspective and become active in supporting education, alternative health care, and the arts.

In general terms, the Rose Foundation serves as the donor's checkbook. Some donors choose to make a single, fully deductible annual contribution to the Foundation. Other donors prefer to build a fund over time with a series of payments, or to make their gifts in the form of appreciated securities, thereby increasing the tax benefits. To defray its costs related to grant administration, accounting and overhead, the Foundation charges a one-time fee (generally 6%) on these funds.

Depending on a donor's wishes, the Foundation can move quickly to execute a series of grants to a selected charity or charities, or hold the funds in trust to allow time for more thoughtful consideration.

Applicants for grants from donor-advised funds are required to provide the Foundation with a written workplan and budget, and to provide follow-up reports documenting activities funded by the grant and evaluating progress toward project goals. This allows Rose to hold projects accountable for the work we fund. Depending on the donor's wishes, we can either let the grantees know who provided their funding or keep the ultimate funding source entirely confidential. Donors receive an annual report detailing the status of the fund, and outlining any grant awards or other funds disbursed, as well as administrative costs.

Strategic Grantmaking
Rose's donor-advised program has disbursed approximately $1.5 million over the last four years. Recent donor-advised grants have included:
  • An innovative project which encouraged improvements in stormwater treatment as part of the redevelopment along the San Francisco waterfront.
  • Support of environmental and general education programs in the Alameda and Contra Costa County school districts.
  • Administering contracts and grants which provide free scientific experts to non-profit environmental organizations.
  • Community advocacy of clean air solutions.
  • Community-based watershed pro-tection initiatives.
Permanently Endowed Funds
In a permanently endowed fund, the Foundation's goal to maintain and grow the corpus donation while using annual earnings to support grants to charities close to the donor's heart. The Foundation places donor-advised endowments in a separate named account, and all interest and earnings accrue to the endowment. The Foundation charges an annual management fee of 2%. Endowments require a $10,000 minimum to start.

Prizes
Prizes are annual cash awards recognizing outstanding accomplishments in a field of environmental endeavor close to the prize founder's heart. In many cases, the prize founder chairs an Advisory Committee which assists in selecting the recipient. The Foundation produces and distributes application materials, and provides pre-screening and administrative support to the Advisory Committee.

Supporting Funds
Rose can also maintain an endowment on behalf of a designated charity or set of charities and make annual support donations. In these types of funds, a donor is able to provide for the permanent support of their favorite charities, ensuring that their gift will meet future, as well as present needs. This option may be appropriate when the designated beneficiary does not have experience in managing a large donation, or when the donor wants to establish an oversight mechanism to ensure that the future use of the funds stays true to the original intent.

Fund Management
All funds entrusted to the Rose Foundation are managed in accordance with high standards of financial prudence plus consideration of our environmental mission. Therefore, in addition to asset preservation, reliable earnings and growth potential, Rose requires its investments to meet environmental and social criteria. We are pleased to report that Rose's endowments enjoy returns which match those of the broad market indices, while the weight of the corpus supports the overall mission of the Rose Foundation.