Field-of-Interest Funds
Field-of-interest funds are for people who have a particular area of charitable interest. They name the area—such as troubled youth—or choose a more specific focus—such as drug abuse or prevention of teen pregnancy. They might create a fund to benefit the arts, or, as one donor did, further narrow the purpose to support training for talented, disadvantaged young artists.
Then we go to work, researching and preparing a grant spending plan for that field of interest. Our board double-checks proposed grants against your fund's purpose and any other guidelines you've given us. After we make each grant (with a voucher bearing the fund's name), we carefully monitor the results.
The advantage of a field-of-interest fund is that it keeps up with the times. The arts will always depend on private philanthropy, and we'll always have to be concerned about our young people. But today's youth problems weren't around 40 years ago, and neither were the many exciting young arts groups that have sprung up all over the City. Rather than locking your charitable contribution into a few specific charities, a field-of-interest fund will always be able to meet contemporary needs. |
