donor-Advised Funds
Endowments for donors wanting to recommend grants to selected youth shooting sports-related entities.
Donor-Advised Funds for Supporting Youth Shooting Sports
A Donor-Advised Fund (DAF) allows a donor to establish and fund a MidwayUSA Foundation endowment account from which grants will be distributed to selected nonprofit youth shooting sports-related entities instead of the endowment account holder. Unlike Team, Agency, and Donor Designated endowment accounts, where grants are issued to the account holders to use for their youth shooting sports programs, the DAF issues grants to unrelated recipients recommended annually by the account holder (donor or donor’s representative).
How to Start a Donor-Advised Fund
A donor may request to open a Donor-Advised Fund (DAF) by contacting us. We will work with the donor to determine if a DAF is a good fit. If so, the Foundation will offer a Donor-Advised Fund Agreement that must be completed and returned to the Foundation along with a minimum $20,000 donation.
The Power of a Donor-Advised Fund is its Flexibility
The flexibility of a DAF is a tremendous advantage for individuals who want to make a charitable donation(s) yet remain actively involved in the annual grant process and the resulting impact of their generosity. According to the National Philanthropic Trust’s 2018 DAF Report, the rapidly increasing number of individual donor-advised fund accounts [in the United States] makes them the fastest-growing vehicle in philanthropy, and the rising value of charitable dollars granted from donor-advised funds also makes them the most active type of charitable giving vehicle.
When the donor creates a DAF, then each grant cycle the donor can recommend the teams or organizations that will receive the grant(s) based on his/her criteria and priorities at the time of the grant, as long as they align with the Foundation’s youth shooting sports mission. Grant recipients could be a high school shotgun team in Missouri one year, a collegiate rifle team in Kentucky the next year, and a Boy Scout shooting program the following year. The donor may also recommend more than one grant recipient each grant cycle as long as each grant is $1,000 or more.
Donor-Advised Fund Donations
MidwayUSA Foundation is a qualified public charity, exempt from Federal and State income tax under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Donations are tax-deductible under Section 170 of the Code. All donations are unrestricted and the property of the MidwayUSA Foundation, under the control of the Board of Directors. Please see specific information related to contributions in our donation policy at https://www.midwayusafoundation.org/policies/.
The MidwayUSA Foundation does not charge any fees for endowment account donations. Therefore, the Foundation credits 100% of each donation to the Donor-Advised Fund.
Investment Earnings
The MidwayUSA Foundation Board of Directors takes its fiduciary responsibility very seriously and has developed a robust investment portfolio, focused on long-term growth, with world-class guidance from Goldman Sachs. The Foundation does not currently charge any investment fees. Therefore, a MidwayUSA Foundation Donor-Advised Fund (DAF) receives 100% of its pro-rata share of the investment earnings made by the Foundation. Due to fluctuations in the investment market, account earnings may be positive or negative. The MidwayUSA Foundation posts earnings to all endowment accounts quarterly, and DAF accounts receive quarterly statements.