January 11, 2004

What a community foundation is

A community foundation is a tax-exempt, non-profit, autonomous, publicly supported, philanthropic institution with a long term goal of building permanent, named component funds established by many separate donors for the broad-based charitable benefit of the residents of a defined geographic area. Ours is Madison.

We are recognized by the IRS as tax-exempt under Internal Revenue Code 501(c)(3), organized and operated exclusively for charitable purposes.

We have an independent governing body broadly representative of the community we serve.

We have broad support in the form of contributions from many separate, unrelated donors with diverse charitable interests in our community.

We accept and administer a diversity of gift types to met the varied philanthropic needs of donors.

We are a steward of charitable funds, investing and prudently managing funds and maintaining accurate financial records.

We inform and educate donors about community issues and grant-making opportunities, and actively involve them in identifying and responding to community issues and opportunities.