INTRODUCTION TO THE BLUE TRUST SINGLE CHARITY FUND PROGRAM
We are grateful you have chosen to facilitate your charitable giving through The Blue Trust Single Charity Fund (SCF) Program and congratulate you on the impact you will be making in the world. These Program Guidelines set forth the policies and procedures for establishing a Single Charity Fund (“Giving Account”) and the terms and provisions governing the administration of each Giving Account.
Blue Trust has partnered with GiveClear Foundation (“GC” or “GiveClear”) as the 501(c)(3) SingleCharity Fund Sponsor. GiveClear envisions a new model of philanthropy - a transparent system at your fingertips connecting people to trusted non-profits at scale. GiveClear delivers an inspiring charitable giving experience through innovative technology, bringing additional accountability, transparency and effectiveness to philanthropy.
A Single Charity Fund is a fund from which GiveClear will make grants only to a single identified charitable organization that the Donor identifies at the time of the Donor’s initial contribution to the fund.
Contributions to your Giving Account are irrevocable when received and accepted by GiveClear, which retains exclusive legal control over contributions.
All activities of GiveClear and all participation by Donors are subject to these Single Charity Fund (SCF) Program Guidelines and the policies referenced within.
All prospective Donors should consult their legal, accounting, and/or tax advisors regarding any implications of participation in GiveClear.
GiveClear Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization EIN: 81-3222963.
ESTABLISHING A GIVING ACCOUNT
What is a Giving Account - A Giving Account is a charitable giving account designed to invest, grow, and give assets to a designated non-profit for meaningful and lasting impact. Once funds are contributed, they are non-refundable, and the Donor receives an immediate tax receipt.
Getting Started - A Giving Account can be opened quickly, easily, and at no cost.
Interested clients should contact their Advisor to initiate the account opening process.
CONTRIBUTIONS & GIVING ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT
There is no minimum initial contribution required to fund a Giving Account. There is no minimum balance required to maintain a Giving Account. Contributions will be accepted from individuals, business entities, donor advised funds, trusts, estates, and other foundations.
Contribution Acknowledgement & Valuation - All accepted contributions will be
acknowledged with a notification, and an official tax receipt will be available immediately, if applicable. All official tax receipts for contributions will comply with the IRS regulations. GiveClear will follow all IRS guidelines and standard practice guidelines for the industry in valuing all contributions.
Types of Contributions:
Cash (USD): GiveClear accepts contributions of monies in US dollars to a Giving Account for each contribution effective the day the funds are received by GiveClear
Publicly traded U.S. securities: GiveClear accepts contributions of publicly traded U.S. securities to a Giving Account. Donors receive credit into their Giving Account for each contribution after it has been received and subsequently sold, effective the day the net proceeds are received by GiveClear.
DAF Transfer (USD): GiveClear accepts incoming transfers of DAF assets (USD only) held at external DAF Sponsors. Donors receive credit into their Giving Account effective the day the funds are received by GiveClear
IRA charitable rollovers: GiveClear accepts qualified charitable distributions from an individual retirement account or individual retirement annuity after the account owner has reached age 70 ½.
GiveClear Giving Accounts will not accept gifts that do not meet the above specifications. GiveClear also recommends that individuals seek Independent Legal Advice (ILA) prior to making any significant contributions, as there are IRS limits on the amounts of charitable contributions that can be deducted in any one year.
GiveClear Must Accept Contributions Before they are Final - GiveClear reserves the right to decline any contributions for any reason, for example a contribution that it believes does not comply with IRS regulations.
Timing of Contributions - Generally, the date of any contribution is the date on which the asset is received by GiveClear. Timing of receipt at year end can be critical. Please see schedule below for cut off dates.
Investment of Giving Account Balance - Giving Accounts may be invested for tax free growth, while being held prior to grant distributions. Blue Trust and GiveClear offer commingled investment pools or separately managed accounts for each Giving Account. Donors should agree with their Blue Trust Advisor on the appropriate investment approach for their Giving Account, consistent with GiveClear’s investment policy guidelines.
Investments should be chosen with consideration for time horizon for granting to the non-profit that the Donor has designated for the SCF. Funds targeted for immediate grant distribution should be left as cash in the Giving Wallet, while those intended to be held for a longer duration or for growth are appropriately invested in the Investment Wallet. It is recommended that enough funds be left in the Giving Wallet to satisfy the next one to three months’ worth of grants. For further information on investments, please refer to the Investment Policy Statement of the Blue Trust Single Charity Fund Program.
Investment Expenses - All investment-related expenses are assessed from the Giving Account assets; examples include investment management fees, mutual fund or ETF expenses, withholding taxes on offshore income, and trading costs.
GIVING ACCOUNT ROLES
Donor - the original owner of the asset(s) that have been donated to a Giving Account. Unless the Donor requests that grants be made anonymously, all grants from the SCF to the designated non-profit will include the Donor’s name and email address. A Donor must be an individual over 18 years of age or an approved legal entity
Family Member – an individual nominated by Donor to submit grant recommendations from the Giving Account.
Advisor – A financial professional affiliated with Blue Trust who is nominated by the Donor to perform various functions within the Giving Account on the Donor’s behalf, such as providing charitable planning services.
Successor - An individual who is nominated in the Giving Account succession plan to act as Donor when the current Donor is deceased or otherwise unable to act due to incapacity or disability. Each Giving Account can name one Successor.
Beneficiary – a charitable beneficiary designated by the Donor as the recommended recipient of any Giving Account balances when the current Donor is deceased or otherwise unable to act due to incapacity or disability and the Successor does not assume the role.
SUCCESSION PLANNING
In the event of your death or incapacity, you may wish to provide GiveClear Foundation with a digital "succession plan" for your Giving Account. There are two options to handle the remaining assets in the Giving Account, and you may allocate a percentage of the Giving Account to any one of these, or a combination of them.
Name a successor advisor – provide Giveclear and Blue Trust with digital instructions of the name and contact information for the person who will act as donor advisor for the Giving Account allocation upon your death or incapacity. GiveClear and Blue Trust will coordinate with the successor advisor to open a Giving Account and transfer the allocated amount.
Name a beneficiary charity – provide GiveClear with digital instructions to
recommend a final grant directly to the designated charity for the Giving Account allocation upon your death or incapacity.
If no instructions are provided or instructions are no longer valid due to an inability to reach successor advisors, Giveclear will make grants to the designated charity for the SCF, unless the designated charity has lost its tax-exempt status, in which case the board of Giveclear will place the funds with one or more approved charities of its choosing.
GIVING GUIDELINES
GiveClear will make grants only to a single identified charitable organization that the Donor identifies at the time of the Donor’s initial contribution to the fund. The designated charitable organization must be an IRS approved 501(c)(3) public charity or private operating foundation,. The designated charitable organization cannot be a private non-operating foundation. Grant recommendations must be a minimum of $50.
Grant Recommendation Fulfillment - Grant Recommendations are reviewed for
approval on business days within 48 hours of submission unless additional due diligences required. Grants are issued to the designated non-profit by GiveClear. To keep administrative costs low, GiveClear makes every effort to transfer grant funds to the non-profit electronically. Therefore, if the designated non-profit is part of the digital payment network used by GiveClear, funds should be received by the non-profit within 2 - 7 business days of grant approval. For any non-profit that is not part of the digital payment network, a check will be sent within 5 business days of grant processing. Checks not cashed after 6 months of the issue date will be redeposited into the Donor’s Giving Account. The non-profit will have a $25 Administration Recovery Fee withheld from all grants issued via check for the third and subsequent check sent.
Grant Restrictions – Any grant recommendations are under the exclusive legal control of GiveClear, which reserves the right to refuse a grant recommendation based on legal obligations, tax-exempt status, internal policies, or improper purposes. In the event that funds granted are for an impermissible purpose, remedial action will be taken to have the grant funds returned. GiveClear reserves the right to assess a Giving Account for extraordinary or unusual costs it incurs due to a Donor’s requests.
Grant recommendations are not permitted if the grant provides personal benefit to the Donor and/or Advisor or a related person to the Donor and/or Advisor. The restrictions for recommended grants are as follows:
Private benefit for any individual(s)
Dues or membership fees
Tuition payments
Purchasing tickets to a benefit
Purchasing goods or services at a charitable auction
Funding a pre-existing, binding pledge which you are legally obligated to fulfill
Lobbying, political contributions, or political campaigns
1. NOTE: Please refer to IRS guidelines for the full explanation of charitable grant restrictions.
SCF ADMINISTRATIVE FEE STRUCTURE
SCF Administrative Fees are used by GiveClear to pay for the administrative and operating expenses incurred in the administration of the Blue Trust SCF Program. SCF Administrative fees will be calculated daily based on the Giving Account balance and are drawn from the Giving Account monthly. Fees are charged based on the declining fee structure as outlined below.
SUB-ADVISORY FEES
The Advisor to Donor may earn a sub-advisory fee in their administration of charitable planning and the selection of suitable investment pools for Giving Accounts. Sub-Advisory fees will be calculated daily based on the Giving Account balance and are drawn from the Giving Account monthly. Sub-Advisory fees will not exceed an annual fee rate of 100 basis points (bps) or 1.0%.
For further information, please contact your Blue Trust Advisor for the Giving Account.
CHARITABLE OPERATING EXPENSE RECOVERY
If significant or unusual charitable operating expenses are incurred by GiveClear due to extraordinary contribution, investment, or grant requests of a Giving Account, GiveClear may allocate these expenses back directly to the Giving Account in order to recover these expenses.
* Blue Trust and GiveClear Foundation reserve the right to modify the Single Charity Fund (SCF) program and the Program Guidelines at any time