Private foundations can be the pinnacle of personal philanthropy. In theory, they can turn big ideas into lasting charitable impact—but building the necessary infrastructure to match that vision can be costly.
Whether your client is considering establishing a private foundation after a major liquidity event, seeking grantmaking guidance, or reevaluating running an uncomfortably complex foundation, you may be surprised by how community foundations can help optimize your client’s charitable impact and create a more fulfilling philanthropic experience.
As the community foundation for New York City, Long Island, and Westchester, The New York Community Trust applies a century of grantmaking and community knowledge to helping families at every stage of their giving journey. With access to this deep well of experience, working with The Trust can be transformative for private foundations—particularly those that are lightly staffed.
Consider these four advantageous ways professional advisors see their charitably minded clients work with The Trust.
1. Carrying Out the Foundation’s Mission by Creating a Named Fund – For a foundation looking to evolve and simplify
Private foundations begin with a clear mission and enthusiastic founders, but circumstances change over time, and the administrative load or difficult family dynamics can eclipse the joy of giving. Many advisors discover a familiar pattern: Clients who eagerly launched foundations later express disappointment that bureaucratic tasks or family discord have consumed what was meant to be gratifying charitable work. Managing grant cycles, board meetings, and regulatory reporting has become an unwelcome burden, whether for founders themselves or for the next generations of leadership.
When day-to-day operations fall to a small family board or a single staffer, or grantmaking often becomes reactive rather than strategic. This point of frustration signals it may be time to consider an alternative. A named fund at The New York Community Trust can fulfill the foundation’s mission while preserving its legacy, allowing clients to simplify operations without abandoning their philanthropic goals. Your client and their foundation retain their philanthropic identity and gain access to The Trust’s team of expert grantmakers and financial stewards.
The Trust handles investment oversight and all compliance requirements—freeing families from operational strain. Multiple options are available to accommodate a client’s immediate needs, long-term goals, ensuring their named fund can adapt to address the region’s evolving needs.
2. Running a Locally Focused Grant Program – For a foundation looking to deepen its community impact
When your client wants to make a direct impact on our region, The Trust can help bring that vision to life. Drawing on decades of local expertise and relationships, The Trust’s team manages every part of the grantmaking process, from issuing requests for proposals and vetting applicants to making grants and overseeing reporting. The private foundation makes a gift to a focused fund at The Trust and collaborates with its team to set the priorities. This approach delivers engaged, place-based philanthropy that’s both personal and professionally managed, allowing your client’s vision to take root in their chosen communities without expanding internal operations.
3. Joining with Peer Foundations to Make a Bigger Difference – For a foundation looking for like-minded partners
For foundations seeking collective partnerships, The New York Community Trust’s funder collaboratives provide opportunities to leverage a larger pool of resources for greater impact.
The Trust connects foundations, family offices, and institutional partners around common initiatives. Some current collaboratives focus on voter engagement, helping immigrants, Long Island Sound conservation, and services for people struggling with homelessness and mental illness. Collaborators coordinate grantmaking strategies to multiply each foundation’s individual capacity. Through these partnerships, your client doesn’t simply fund initiatives—they help shape them while maintaining their foundation’s distinct voice and values.
4. Honoring Board Service with Donor-Advised Funds – For foundations looking to extend the gift of philanthropy
Board service is critical to nonprofits, charitable foundations, and many businesses, and these organizations can honor this exceptional commitment by creating donor-advised funds (DAFs) in board members’ names. Seeded with an initial gift from the organization, each DAF enables the honoree to support causes they value, independently and at their own pace.
It’s a meaningful gesture that carries the benefits of charitable contributions and pays forward a gift of philanthropy. Many organizations choose The New York Community Trust as the home for these DAFs, with The Trust managing setup, compliance, and administration while board-member honorees direct their giving through an online portal.
These examples illustrate the flexibility of community foundation partnerships. The giving experts at The Trust welcome discussions about other approaches to enhance and simplify the important charitable work of foundations.
Why Advisors Turn to The New York Community Trust
Philanthropy can be transformative—but having the right charitable partner is key. The New York Community Trust works with foundations in myriad ways that satisfy a diverse range of client objectives. For advisors, The Trust provides a team that understands complex families, fiduciary duty, manages risk with care, and honors the relationships you’ve built. For clients, it delivers values in action: flexible giving, deep local insight, and a structure made to last.
The Trust isn’t just a fund manager—it’s your community foundation. It’s a legacy builder, a giving guide, and a hub for community-powered philanthropy, where donors’ resources go further together.
