Create a Fund

Created in 2004, we refer to this fund as “The Heart of our Foundation.” The beauty of the Community Legacy fund is that it evolves with the ever-changing needs of our community and is a primary funding source for our annual grants programs that solely supports local charities. This fund allows us to provide grants to the widest possible range of initiatives, including poverty reduction, arts and culture, food security, housing, healthcare, education, seniors, climate and conservation, youth, support of marginalized groups, and so much more. A gift to this fund is a forever gift to the Sunshine Coast – the more it grows, the more distributions we can make to support those organizations making a tangible difference on the Coast. Donors can establish a named fund within our Community Legacy Fund portfolio to support the Foundation’s annual community grants program.

This type of fund allows you to direct the annual income from your fund more broadly to cover a particular area of interest rather than any specific organization e.g. the arts, youth, health & wellness, seniors, food & shelter, climate & conservation, etc. Grants are distributed to local registered charities that support the field of interest you choose to support.

A Donor Advised Fund enables individuals and families to establish a charitable endowment fund, receive a donation tax receipt and then work with the Sunshine Coast Foundation to recommend grants over time. This type of fund allows for your ongoing participation in the selection of local registered charities you wish to support.

A Donor Designated Fund is ideal for individuals and families who are certain about what they would like to support and want to secure their wishes with the Sunshine Coast Foundation. This type of fund provides ongoing, annual funding to support a specifically named charitable organization.

These funds allow donors to support graduating high school students​ on the Sunshine Coast.

A donor may wish to establish a permanent endowment to support the operations of the Sunshine Coast Foundation or contribute to our existing operating fund. A contribution (large or small) ensures the Sunshine Coast Foundation can continue meeting the growing needs of our community.

Charitable organizations can set up an Agency Fund with the Foundation to build a sustainable stream of income that can be used to support their operations and programs.

Over the years the Sunshine Coast Festival of the Written Arts (SCFWA) has raised approximately $1,000,000 to help fund our year-round literacy activities and annual summer festival. Each year the ensuing grants from the Sunshine Coast Foundation have been instrumental in increasing the stability of our organization, offering us a reliable income stream that isn’t dependent on grant writing or ticket sales. These permanent funds also allow our organization to offer legacy projects so that people can memorialize loved ones or recognize key leaders in the community with an endowment named in their honour. It is an absolute pleasure to work with the Sunshine Coast Foundation. This beneficial partnership has played an important part in helping keep the SCFWA financially viable and culturally vital.

— Marisa Alps, Artistic and Executive Director, Sunshine Coast Festival of the Written Arts