Professional Advisors

2:1 Match opportunity

A Trusted Partner for Your Clients' Charitable Goals

We work alongside attorneys, financial advisors, accountants, trust officers, and wealth management professionals to help clients achieve their philanthropic, financial, and legacy planning objectives.

Why Advisors Partner with Us

We Complement Your Expertise

The Community Foundation does not replace the advisor. We strengthen the advisor-client relationship by providing charitable planning expertise, local philanthropic knowledge, and flexible giving solutions.

Benefits include:

  • Helping clients define charitable goals 
  • Simplifying complex gifts 
  • Managing charitable funds 
  • Facilitating family philanthropy conversations 
  • Creating legacy plans 
  • Providing local community expertise 
  • Preserving advisor-client relationships

We view professional advisors as valued partners and remain committed to keeping advisors involved throughout the charitable planning process.

How We Help Your Clients

Flexible Giving Solutions Built for Long-Term Impact

At the Community Foundation of Southwest Indiana, charitable funds are designed to create lasting impact through endowment. Gifts are professionally invested and managed to support charitable causes today while preserving resources for future generations.

We offer a variety of charitable planning solutions to help clients achieve their philanthropic, tax, and legacy goals.

Community Good Funds

Provide flexible, permanent support for the evolving needs of southwest Indiana. These funds allow the Foundation to address emerging challenges and opportunities as community needs change over time.

Donor-Advised Funds

A flexible charitable giving vehicle that allows clients to make a tax-deductible gift, receive an immediate tax benefit, and recommend grants to qualified charities over time.

Designated Funds

Provide long-term support for one or more specific nonprofit organizations selected by the donor.

Field-of-Interest Funds

Support a charitable cause, such as education, health, arts, or community development, while allowing flexibility to address changing community needs over time.

Scholarship Funds

Create educational opportunities for students while establishing a lasting personal, family, or organizational legacy.

Legacy Giving

Incorporate charitable goals into estate plans through wills, trusts, retirement assets, beneficiary designations, or other planned giving strategies.

Charitable Planning Opportunities

Gifts Beyond Cash

We help facilitate charitable gifts, including:

  • Appreciated securities 
  • IRA assets 
  • Closely held business interests 
  • Real estate 
  • Agricultural assets 
  • Life insurance 
  • Estate gifts 
  • Beneficiary designations
Why Community Foundations Matter

Local Knowledge. Lasting Impact.

Unlike national charitable organizations, the Community Foundation offers:

  • Deep knowledge of Southwest Indiana 
  • Relationships with local nonprofits 
  • Understanding of community needs 
  • Regional grantmaking expertise 
  • Long-term stewardship

We help clients connect their charitable goals with meaningful local impact.

Current Opportunity for Clients

Rooted in Community Match Campaign

Through the Community Foundation’s Rooted in Community initiative, eligible gifts to unrestricted funds will be matched 2:1, creating an opportunity for donors to triple their charitable impact.

Professional advisors can play an important role in helping clients take advantage of this limited-time opportunity while supporting the long-term needs of Southwest Indiana communities.

We offer a variety of charitable planning solutions to help clients achieve their philanthropic, tax, and legacy goals.

Campaign Overview

Learn More

Rooted in Community demonstrates the Foundation’s commitment to building stronger communities for generations. This initiative permanently invests eligible gifts to a Community Good Fund, creating a lasting source of support that adapts to Southwest Indiana’s changing needs over time.

A special matching opportunity triples every dollar contributed, maximizing your impact from the start. Gifts to a Community Good Fund provide long-term support for our region by allowing the Foundation to respond to emerging needs, invest in local solutions, and support nonprofit organizations through our annual grantmaking process.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • What qualifies for the 2:1 match?

    Qualifying matching funds must be:

    • Cash contributions
    • Marketable securities
    • Cash equivalents
    • Real property (valued per IRS regulations)
    • Irrevocable pledges of cash paid by June 30, 2030
    • Present value of irrevocable deferred gifts (e.g., charitable remainder trusts, charitable lead trusts, and other irrevocable trusts where the Community Foundation holds a calculable beneficial interest)
    • Grain or livestock gifts (if gifted, sold, and cash received during the match period)

    All gifts must be completed during the matching period.

  • Do bequests qualify?

    A. Revocable bequests do not qualify for matching credit under our match guidelines.

    B. Irrevocable deferred gifts may qualify if:

    • The gift is executed during the matching period
    • The present value can be calculated under Treasury regulations
    • It is legally binding and irrevocable

  • Do IRA gifts qualify?

    A. Current IRA Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs)

    Yes, if:

    • The distribution is completed during the matching period
    • The funds are received directly to the Community Foundation

    B. Naming the Community Foundation as IRA beneficiary

    • Unless structured as an irrevocable designation with calculable present value, it would not qualify for matching credit until distribution.

  • Common Gifts That Do Not Qualify for Matching Credit

    • Government grants
    • Transfers from other Indiana community foundation DAFs
    • Foundation self-funding
    • Contributions made directly to other nonprofits
    • Internal reallocations

  • Can gifts be used to establish or add to funds at the Community Foundation?

    • Gifts may qualify for matching credit if they are directed to the Community Foundation’s Unrestricted Endowment.
    • Gifts used to establish or add to donor-advised funds, designated funds, scholarship funds, or other restricted funds do not qualify for matching credit unless the fund itself is structured as part of the Unrestricted Endowment.
    • Advisors working with clients interested in establishing new funds are encouraged to consult with the Community Foundation to determine the best structure for achieving both the client’s philanthropic goals and potential matching eligibility.

  • How are donor-advised funds treated?

    • Grants from donor-advised funds held at national or commercial sponsors (e.g., Fidelity Charitable, Schwab Charitable) may qualify if made during the sponsor’s normal annual grantmaking process.
    • The donor-advised fund must be held outside an Indiana community foundation.
    • Transfers from donor-advised funds at Indiana community foundations do not qualify.
    • Grants from private foundations may qualify if they are made in the regular course of the foundation’s annual charitable distributions and are not structured solely to generate matching credit.

  • How does our Community Foundation handle pledges?

    • Pledges must be irrevocable.
    • Cash must be paid by June 30, 2030.
    • Only documented, binding commitments qualify.

  • Is there a recommended script?

    Yes. Below is a one-paragraph advisor script:

    “The Community Foundation has secured a 2:1 matching opportunity initiative. Certain completed gifts and irrevocable commitments made during the matching period may qualify, subject to program guidelines. This creates a rare opportunity to significantly leverage charitable dollars while strengthening permanent community endowment.”

Join Our Investment Partnership Program

Keep the relationship. Expand the impact.

Through our Investment Partnership Program, clients can establish a charitable fund with the Community Foundation while maintaining investment management through their trusted financial advisor.

We believe charitable planning works best when professional advisors remain actively involved in their clients’ philanthropic, financial, and legacy planning conversations. This approach combines your investment expertise with our philanthropic knowledge, grantmaking experience, and community leadership.

Together, we help clients achieve their financial, charitable, and legacy goals while creating lasting impact across southwest Indiana.

Benefits for Advisors

  • Maintain and strengthen long-term client relationships
  • Continue managing charitable assets through approved investment partnerships
  • Offer clients integrated charitable, estate, and legacy planning solutions
  • Access philanthropic expertise and community knowledge to support client conversations
  • Partner with a trusted local organization dedicated to charitable impact

Benefits for Clients

  • Continue working with their trusted financial advisor
  • Access the Community Foundation’s philanthropic expertise and grantmaking services
  • Create a lasting charitable legacy through an endowed fund
  • Support specific organizations, causes, scholarships, or community needs
  • Name successor advisors and successor fund advisors when appropriate
  • Access online fund information and grantmaking tools
  • Participate in Foundation events, educational opportunities, and community impact initiatives

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Will the Foundation replace me as my client's advisor?

    No. We work alongside professional advisors and encourage continued advisor involvement.

  • Can I remain involved after a fund is established?

    Absolutely. Through our Investment Partnership Program, clients can establish a charitable fund with the Community Foundation while maintaining investment management through their trusted financial advisor.

  • Does the Foundation provide legal or tax advice?

    No. We work in partnership with a client's attorney, accountant, financial advisor, and other professional advisors. We encourage clients to consult their advisors regarding legal, tax, and financial matters.

  • What types of gifts can the Foundation accept?

    We help facilitate charitable gifts, including:

    • Cash
    • Appreciated securities 
    • IRA assets 
    • Closely held business interests 
    • Real estate 
    • Agricultural assets 
    • Life insurance 
    • Estate gifts 
    • Beneficiary designations

  • Why should I work with the Community Foundation instead of a national charitable provider?

    We offer local philanthropic expertise, deep knowledge of southwest Indiana communities, relationships with nonprofit organizations, and the ability to connect clients' charitable goals with local impact. We also provide personalized service and support throughout the charitable planning process.

  • When should I contact the Foundation?

    We welcome conversations whenever a client is considering charitable giving, creating a charitable fund, planning a legacy gift, selling a business, gifting appreciated assets, supporting multiple organizations, or exploring long-term philanthropic goals.

    With examples like:

    • A client wants to leave a charitable legacy. 
    • A client is selling a business. 
    • A client has highly appreciated stock. 
    • A client wants to involve family in giving. 
    • A client wants to support multiple charities. 
    • A client wants to create a scholarship. 
    • A client wants to establish a donor-advised fund.
    • A client is considering a charitable bequest. 

  • Can the Foundation help with legacy and estate planning conversations?

    Yes. While we do not provide legal or tax advice, we regularly work alongside professional advisors to help clients incorporate charitable goals into estate, business succession, and legacy planning strategies.

  • How quickly can a charitable fund be established?

    In many cases, a fund can be established with a simple conversation and a complete fund agreement. Our team works closely with clients and advisors to make the process as straightforward as possible.

  • How local is our reach?

    We serve nine counties across southwest Indiana. Our work is rooted in this region, but we partner with advisors and donors wherever they live when their charitable giving benefits our communities.

Our Staff

Meet The Team Partnering With You and Your Clients

Our Development Team is here to support you and your clients throughout their philanthropic journey.

Chief Financial Officer

Tim Jones, CPA

Chief Development Officer

Aimee Stachura

Get Started

Let's Work Together

Whether your client wants to support a favorite cause, establish a charitable fund, or create a legacy, we're here to help.

Schedule a Conversation