What do the Atlanta Foundation, Mary Allen Lindsey Branan Foundation, and Price Gilbert, Jr. Charitable Fund all have in common?
The answer is Wachovia. These foundations, along with the Carlos and Marguerite Mason Trust, Ida Alice Ryan Charitable Trust, and David, Helen and Marian Woodward Fund, have selected Wachovia as Trustee to administer combined funds of approximately $15 million to organizations in Georgia.
Alice Sheets, Vice-President and Grant Administrator for Wachovia Nonprofit & Philanthropic Services, explained why donors choose Trustees such as Wachovia to manage their giving versus having a family-run foundation at her Sept. 9 presentation here at the Foundation Center-Atlanta.
Alice cited a few reasons that donors might choose a bank as a trustee for their foundations. Donors sometimes don’t have heirs to pass on the money nor have heirs they feel confident will exercise appropriate fiduciary duty. It’s challenging to give away millions of dollars. Emotions can run high in families that have to make all of the administrative as well as investment decisions to grow their money for future giving. Therefore, instead of handling the minutia of creating and maintaining a foundation run totally by the family, they enlist the help of companies such as Wachovia, who will administer the funds and hopefully grow the foundation’s money as well.
Most banks, not just Wachovia, offer philanthropic services for donors. Thus, grantseekers can apply to banks such as Wachovia, SunTrust, or Bank of America for funding. However, grantseekers should remember that just like any other foundation, those administered by banks have various preferences, including fields of interest, types of support, and geographic focus.
Some foundations may give for capital improvements or general operating expenses while others may not. Some are interested in health, and others prefer to give in the arts. You will have to do your research to find out the giving preferences of bank-administered foundations, as well as other grantmakers. If you need to brush up on the terminology used in the sector, visit our glossary to learn the definitions.
If you want to learn more about the funds administered by banks and their giving interests, come to the Foundation Center-Atlanta and research them for free using Foundation Directory Online. The foundations mentioned by Ms. Sheets can be researched using this database or at Wachovia's web site.
Happy searching!
Asia M. Hadley, Training Coordinator, Foundation Center-Atlanta
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