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FAQ's
What is the Telluride Foundation?
The Telluride Foundation is a community foundation that promotes philanthropy to strengthen our community. The Telluride Foundation matches philanthropy with community needs and opportunities to enhance the quality of life in the Telluride region. Additionally, the Foundation is an invaluable resource to the nonprofit community: it provides support and training in all phases of its operations to make nonprofits more effective and responsible for their individual missions.
Who is the founder of the TF? What and who were responsible for the genesis of TF?
A group of local residents who identified a need for an organization to support and enrich the quality of life for Telluride's growing community. This group included Ron Allred, Norman Schwarzkopf, Stephen Wald, Harmon Brown, and Joe Morita.
Who do we serve?
The entire community; underprivileged, affluent, permanent residents, second homeowners, businesses and visitors.
What is the Telluride Foundation's mission?
The Telluride Foundation is committed to preserving and enriching the quality of life of the residents, visitors and workforce of the Telluride region. The Foundation does this by providing leadership in philanthropy, strengthening community groups, serving as a responsible steward for entrusted funds, and supporting activities that celebrate our unique community.
What is the vision of the Telluride Foundation?
The Telluride Foundation is a driving force in sustaining and improving the overall health and spirit of our community. By connecting donors to the community and the community to our donors, we build a collaboration that benefits both. The Foundation also provides guidance and support for our caregivers, addresses unattended needs in the community, and provides a forum for collaboration when needed.
What does the Telluride Foundation do?
How does it fulfill its goals? The Foundation gives grants to qualified regional charitable organizations, acts as a resource and facilitator for donors and service providers and is a catalyst to solve problems and anticipate emerging needs for our unique and growing community. In addition to its cash disbursements, the Foundation intends to provide support for the community through services such as sponsoring seminars and offering grant-consulting services. In addition, the Foundation will host a workshop in Telluride for local grant writers seeking access to foundations and other funding resource groups.
What is a community foundation?
It is a public charity that develops, manages and allocates community resources in partnership with donors and grant seekers to enrich the community and solve local problems. There are over 650 community foundations in the United States with $30 billion in assets under management. Last year over $4 billions was contributed and $2.2 was disbursed in grants.
The Board
How was the Board of Directors chosen? What is the make-up of the board?
Individuals were invited to serve based on there past experience with non-profits and current interests within the community. The Board members nominate and aprove new members to the Board. The board is comprised of community leaders, major donors and the founders of the Foundation. It represents a broad cross-section of the Telluride community.
Budget/Funding
What is your major source of funding?
Initially, our primary source of funding is gifts from individuals. In the long-term, we hope to build a community endowment.
Are your expenses high?
No. We are a cash flow business that has no endowment. We have to invest in fundraising to generate our community granting resources.
Every dollar the Foundation gives to local causes is a dollar they don't have to spend time raising. Ultimately, this will free their board members and staff to spend more time working on their organization's mission and improve life in Telluride for us all.
What is the estimated carryover to the next fiscal year?
The Telluride Foundation is a cash flow business with no endowment. The Foundation will maintain a prudent cash balance to manage its affairs with a view of long-term investment in the community. At the same time, the Foundation will maximize grant disbursements based on need and positive impact on the community.
Granting
How do you determine your grant recipients?
The Foundation accepts grant applications once a year, in October. Decisions for each grant round are announced in late December at the annual Board of Directors meeting.
Applications are processed by Foundation staff and then reviewed by the Grants Committee, whose members are selected from the Board of Directors. The Grants Committee makes recommendations on grant awards to the Board of Directors and at its annual meeting in December. The 30-member Board reviews the applications, reviews Grants Committee recommendations and makes final decisions on the grant awards.
How much is disbursed and how much can a grant receive?
The amount of a grant and the total disbursed will be based on the following:
What type of benefits do donors to the Foundation receive?
First and foremost, tax deductions. Because the Foundation is a 501(c) 3 community foundation, donors receive 100 percent fair market value charitable deduction for gifts of cash, publicly traded stock, closely-held stock, real estate, and other long-term capital gain property. Gifts of cash are deductible up to 50 percent of the donor's adjusted gross income with a five-year carryover for any excess and the fair market value of gifts of appreciated securities or real estate are deductible up to 30 percent of the donor's adjusted gross income with a five-year carryover for any excess. Lastly, donors may remain anonymous.
Why should someone give to the Telluride Foundation and not the charities directly?
We would encourage them to give to both. If an individual has a specific cause or charity, certainly they should support it. However, it would be difficult or impossible for an individual donor to analyze, assist, steward and continually involve themselves in over 70 valid nonprofits in our region. If an individual is interested in supporting Telluride in general and reaching organizations they may not know which are providing critical services, the Foundation is a great vehicle for them.
By giving to the Foundation, donors know that the Foundation's Board of Directors will do the research necessary to maximize the effectiveness of their donation within the community and the staff will provide full accountability and follow up on grants dispersed. By offering ease and stewardship in donating to the Telluride community, we hope to attract new donors and higher giving levels from current donors.
The Telluride Foundation is a savings account for the community; a philanthropic resource for donors and the needs of the community. A gift to the Foundation is an investment in the community that we will steward for the donor in order to derive the greatest positive impact for the community.
The Telluride Foundation is a community foundation that promotes philanthropy to strengthen our community. The Telluride Foundation matches philanthropy with community needs and opportunities to enhance the quality of life in the Telluride region. Additionally, the Foundation is an invaluable resource to the nonprofit community: it provides support and training in all phases of its operations to make nonprofits more effective and responsible for their individual missions.
Who is the founder of the TF? What and who were responsible for the genesis of TF?
A group of local residents who identified a need for an organization to support and enrich the quality of life for Telluride's growing community. This group included Ron Allred, Norman Schwarzkopf, Stephen Wald, Harmon Brown, and Joe Morita.
Who do we serve?
The entire community; underprivileged, affluent, permanent residents, second homeowners, businesses and visitors.
What is the Telluride Foundation's mission?
The Telluride Foundation is committed to preserving and enriching the quality of life of the residents, visitors and workforce of the Telluride region. The Foundation does this by providing leadership in philanthropy, strengthening community groups, serving as a responsible steward for entrusted funds, and supporting activities that celebrate our unique community.
What is the vision of the Telluride Foundation?
The Telluride Foundation is a driving force in sustaining and improving the overall health and spirit of our community. By connecting donors to the community and the community to our donors, we build a collaboration that benefits both. The Foundation also provides guidance and support for our caregivers, addresses unattended needs in the community, and provides a forum for collaboration when needed.
What does the Telluride Foundation do?
How does it fulfill its goals? The Foundation gives grants to qualified regional charitable organizations, acts as a resource and facilitator for donors and service providers and is a catalyst to solve problems and anticipate emerging needs for our unique and growing community. In addition to its cash disbursements, the Foundation intends to provide support for the community through services such as sponsoring seminars and offering grant-consulting services. In addition, the Foundation will host a workshop in Telluride for local grant writers seeking access to foundations and other funding resource groups.
What is a community foundation?
It is a public charity that develops, manages and allocates community resources in partnership with donors and grant seekers to enrich the community and solve local problems. There are over 650 community foundations in the United States with $30 billion in assets under management. Last year over $4 billions was contributed and $2.2 was disbursed in grants.
The Board
How was the Board of Directors chosen? What is the make-up of the board?
Individuals were invited to serve based on there past experience with non-profits and current interests within the community. The Board members nominate and aprove new members to the Board. The board is comprised of community leaders, major donors and the founders of the Foundation. It represents a broad cross-section of the Telluride community.
Budget/Funding
What is your major source of funding?
Initially, our primary source of funding is gifts from individuals. In the long-term, we hope to build a community endowment.
Are your expenses high?
No. We are a cash flow business that has no endowment. We have to invest in fundraising to generate our community granting resources.
Every dollar the Foundation gives to local causes is a dollar they don't have to spend time raising. Ultimately, this will free their board members and staff to spend more time working on their organization's mission and improve life in Telluride for us all.
What is the estimated carryover to the next fiscal year?
The Telluride Foundation is a cash flow business with no endowment. The Foundation will maintain a prudent cash balance to manage its affairs with a view of long-term investment in the community. At the same time, the Foundation will maximize grant disbursements based on need and positive impact on the community.
Granting
How do you determine your grant recipients?
The Foundation accepts grant applications once a year, in October. Decisions for each grant round are announced in late December at the annual Board of Directors meeting.
Applications are processed by Foundation staff and then reviewed by the Grants Committee, whose members are selected from the Board of Directors. The Grants Committee makes recommendations on grant awards to the Board of Directors and at its annual meeting in December. The 30-member Board reviews the applications, reviews Grants Committee recommendations and makes final decisions on the grant awards.
How much is disbursed and how much can a grant receive?
The amount of a grant and the total disbursed will be based on the following:
- The merits of the grant applications.
- The impact on the community.
- Evaluation of the financial heath and effectiveness of the application organization.
- Monies available from the Foundation’s fund-raising activities.
What type of benefits do donors to the Foundation receive?
First and foremost, tax deductions. Because the Foundation is a 501(c) 3 community foundation, donors receive 100 percent fair market value charitable deduction for gifts of cash, publicly traded stock, closely-held stock, real estate, and other long-term capital gain property. Gifts of cash are deductible up to 50 percent of the donor's adjusted gross income with a five-year carryover for any excess and the fair market value of gifts of appreciated securities or real estate are deductible up to 30 percent of the donor's adjusted gross income with a five-year carryover for any excess. Lastly, donors may remain anonymous.
Why should someone give to the Telluride Foundation and not the charities directly?
We would encourage them to give to both. If an individual has a specific cause or charity, certainly they should support it. However, it would be difficult or impossible for an individual donor to analyze, assist, steward and continually involve themselves in over 70 valid nonprofits in our region. If an individual is interested in supporting Telluride in general and reaching organizations they may not know which are providing critical services, the Foundation is a great vehicle for them.
By giving to the Foundation, donors know that the Foundation's Board of Directors will do the research necessary to maximize the effectiveness of their donation within the community and the staff will provide full accountability and follow up on grants dispersed. By offering ease and stewardship in donating to the Telluride community, we hope to attract new donors and higher giving levels from current donors.
In summary, the Telluride Foundation provides important functions for a donor and giving:
- A trusted and educated philanthropic resource
- Gifting vehicles not previously offered in the region
- Professional stewardship of a gift
- Due diligence and follow-up on grant recipients
- A grant process that represents the critical and emerging needs of the region rather than one particular niche or cause
Conclusion
The Telluride Foundation is a savings account for the community; a philanthropic resource for donors and the needs of the community. A gift to the Foundation is an investment in the community that we will steward for the donor in order to derive the greatest positive impact for the community.
Telluride Foundation
220 E. Colorado Avenue, Suite 106, PO Box 4222
Telluride CO 81435
970-728-8717![[template/footer_bullet.gif]](http://www.telluridefoundation.org/uploads/images/template/footer_bullet.gif "[template/footer_bullet.gif]")
Fax 970-728-9007
220 E. Colorado Avenue, Suite 106, PO Box 4222
Telluride CO 81435
970-728-8717
Fax 970-728-9007