January 27, 2022

MCF Is Reducing Fees - Again!

By Bob Sorge

When donors and nonprofits build endowment funds at community foundations, they do so in part because they are joining something that transcends their individual charitable interests or organizational mission. While they are building that endowment to provide long-term support for those interests, being part of a community foundation means they are also supporting the larger ecosystem in which their charitable efforts unfold.

How Fees Support Our Work, Which Supports Your Work

For example, if I ran a nonprofit that focused on literacy, and built an endowment at Madison Community Foundation (MCF), I would know that part of the fees I pay support MCF’s broader work in the community, which in turn benefits my organization.

My support allows MCF to do things such as create the Greater Madison Nonprofit Directory, where I can get a better idea of other organizations operating with a similar mission as mine.

My support enables MCF to stay abreast of developments in philanthropic giving, tax laws and estate planning (such as required minimum and qualified charitable distribution rules, or the pros and cons of crypto currency gifts) that are beyond the capacity of my nonprofit to follow and implement.

I would be supporting MCF’s efforts to convene organizations and foster collaborations that accelerate impact, as well as the staff that do the research to develop and communicate best practices on a variety of subjects in the field.

And I would know that MCF’s work with other organizations strengthens the ecosystem in which I operate. The food pantry that’s benefitting from MCF’s work might be feeding someone who is also struggling with literacy - and our efforts to enhance literacy are accelerated when our clients aren’t worried about where their next meal is coming from.

By Building Our Own Endowment, We Are More Reliant on Ourselves

We are proud of the work we do at MCF and appreciate the support of our fundholders. Paying attention to the ecosystem in which we are all creating positive change is important. At the same time, as MCF continues to build its own administrative endowment we are less reliant on our fundholders to support this work.

In 2016, MCF implemented a tiered fee structure, which reduced fees on larger funds. We recognized then that as an endowment grows it becomes more efficient to operate and the new fee structure reflected that. We have continued to operate with an eye toward reducing fees further since then.

Enter 2022

MCF’s Administrative Endowment continues to grow through contributions and investment returns. We now are able to support a greater share of our operational needs through our own endowment. This has put us in a position to lower the tiers in our fee structure to benefit more fundholders.

The new fee structure went into effect on January 1, 2022.

The support our fundholders provide is vital to MCF’s success in strengthening our community. But we also want our fundholders to have more resources to support their unique charitable interests and missions.

Thank you for choosing to be part of this larger ecosystem. Thank you for helping to create a vibrant and generous community where all people thrive – through your individual efforts and through your commitment to the community’s foundation.

Very best wishes for a healthy, happy 2022!