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WORK WITH THE TRUST

During the estate planning process, clients often involve their lawyer or financial advisor to help them shape their charitable giving, but ultimately clients need to decide what causes are important to them, how they want to structure their giving, and whether they want to involve family members.

It can be a sensitive and complicated process, but The Trust is uniquely suited to help you and your clients successfully navigate it.

Since 1924, we’ve been working with lawyers and financial advisors to help their clients with philanthropy. The Trust is the right choice for thousands of generous New Yorkers because of our staff of experts, range of giving options, capacity to accept complicated assets, knowledge of community needs, and efficient management.

Contact us for a copy of our tax-exemption letter, fund information, and suggested wording to help draft the gift instrument. Donors can set up funds in either The New York Community Trust or in Community Funds, Inc. (CFI), our not-for-profit corporate affiliate. They share staff and a governing board, and file a combined IRS return.

The IRS has classified us as “tax exempt” under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code; as a “publicly supported” organization under Section 170(b)(1)(A)(vi); “not a private foundation” under Section 509(a)(1); and as a “community trust” under Treas. Reg. Sections 1.170A-9(e)(10) and (11).

This status ensures donors the maximum tax benefit allowed by law. This also applies to our divisions, the Long Island Community Foundation and the Westchester Community Foundation.

To learn more, contact Carrie Trowbridge, general counsel, at (212) 686-2563 or Carrietrowbridge@nyct-cfi.org

CREATING A FUND

IN THE NEW YORK COMMUNITY TRUST

The Resolution and Declaration of Trust Creating “The New York Community Trust” (the R&D) details the powers and duties of the trustee bank, and our Distribution Committee (governing board). To set up a fund in trust, the founding document must incorporate the R&D by reference and the donor needs to select one of our trustee banks. See a list of these 11 banks.

IN COMMUNITY FUNDS

The Long Island Community Foundation and the Westchester Community Foundation are divisions of Community Funds, so donors have the same options described above.  Contact us for a copy of our Certificate of Incorporation, and download our Bylaws.

IN OUR LONG ISLAND OR WESTCHESTER DIVISIONS

The Long Island Community Foundation and the Westchester Community Foundation are divisions of Community Funds, so donors have the same options described above. Visit their sites for contact information.

THREE KEY FACTS

  • If a change of circumstances makes literal compliance with the terms of the gift “unnecessary, undesirable, impractical, or impossible,” our governing body can change those terms. Donors are assured their gifts will remain useful forever.
  • We must review the terms of a fund before accepting it.
  • For funds held in trust in The New York Community Trust, a co-trustee is not permitted.

ADVISOR'S ADVICE

Connecting Clients to their Community

Magdalen Gaynor headshot.

Photo by Ari Mintz

PATRICIA MARCIN is a trust and estates attorney, a partner at Rivkin Radler, and the chair of the Long Island Community Foundation.

“Working with a community foundation allows professional advisors to give clients a connection to the causes that they care about. We’re helping people on both ends: the people who need the help and the people who want to help. I love it.

During their lifetimes, donors can become involved in the nonprofits that they’re interested in and develop experience in the charitable world. They can see how the community foundation works and get greater access to the people and nonprofits actually doing the work. I think it’s a much more satisfying experience than dealing with a commercial donor-advised fund administrator.

The things that we—as regular citizens—don’t know in regard to the needs of a community are astounding. As both an attorney and as the Long Island Community Foundation board chair, it’s been eye-opening for me.

Community foundations make sure donors’ money goes where they want it to go. I have clients that take great comfort in knowing that if the charity they currently are supporting isn’t around down the road, or has significantly changed its mission, the community foundation will locate other charities doing the best work in that area. Donor-advised funds provide a wonderful alternative to a private foundation, and all the costs and hassle that’s involved with them.

When I talk to donors about community foundations, I often emphasize the opportunity to leave a charitable legacy, get their family involved, and have their name attached to something that makes a lasting difference.

How does it make me feel? Fabulous. As you can tell, making these connections gets my endorphins going. So I feel great about working with the Long Island Community Foundation and The New York Community Trust. I just can’t say enough about them.”

“During their lifetimes, donors can become involved in the nonprofits that they’re interested in and develop experience in the charitable world. They can see how the community foundation works and get greater access to the people and nonprofits actually doing the work.”
– PATRICIA MARCIN is a trust and estates attorney, a partner at Rivkin Radler, and the chair of the Long Island Community Foundation