The San Diego Foundation and Private/Family Foundations -
Partners in Philanthropy

How The San Diego Foundation Can Assist You
Private and Family Foundations and public community foundations have the same goal - to improve the quality of life in the community. As a public charity, The San Diego Foundation can assist Private and Family Foundations to better achieve their charitable goals and maximize their end results. You can contract services, establish a supporting organization, or open a donor advised fund.

Contract Services

Established in 1975, The San Diego Foundation is governed by a diverse group of volunteers who know and care about philanthropy.

In an effort to provide for and further effective philanthropy, The San Diego Foundation is able to contract with Private and Family Foundations to provide expertise in the following areas:

• Finance
• Grantmaking
• Philanthropic Planning
• Scholarships
• Administration

Supporting Organization

If family members are weary of:

• Administrative details
• Tax compliance issues
• Annual minimum distribution
• Excise tax
• Investment decisions, or
• Securing updated information regarding grantee candidates, a Supporting Organization of The San Diego Foundation may be a good alternative.

The identity of the foundation remains intact, but family members will be relieved of administrative compliance and can focus their efforts on making grants to improve the quality of life. Moreover, any additional monetary contributions to the Supporting Organization will receive greater tax benefits as a public charity.

Donor Advised Funds

Private/Family Foundations are legally bound to distribute 5% of their total assets to charity annually. Due diligence in grantmaking is time-consuming and requires special knowledge and access to various resources. Also, there are times, like the end of the year, when members of a Private/Family Foundation have not agreed on a qualified grantee. Rather than grant to an organization simply to fulfill the law, an option is to establish a Donor Advised Fund at The San Diego Foundation. This complies with the law and provides more time to pursue qualified organizations. It also avails the Private/Family Foundation access to The San Diego Foundation’s experienced research staff.

Learn More

You can learn more about the services we provide to Private and Family Foundations by contacting The San Diego Foundation’s Charitable Giving Team at 619-235-2300 or givingteam@sdfoundation.org.

Back to Top