Community Foundation of North Central Massachusetts
Types of Funds >> Unrestricted Funds

Meeting ever-changing community needs

Unrestricted Fund

When you establish an Unrestricted Fund, your gift addresses a broad range of local needs — including future needs that often cannot be anticipated at the time your gift is made. We evaluate all aspects of community well-being: arts and culture, economic development, education, environment, health and human services, neighborhood revitalization, and more. The flexibility of your unrestricted gift, to any of our four funds, enables the Community Foundation’s program experts to respond to the community’s most pressing needs, today and tomorrow.

  • The Community Foundation of North Central Massachusetts General Endowment Fund – This and the regional endowment funds have been established to respond to a wide range of community needs. Gifts of any size can be made to these funds.
    • Greater Gardner Fund
    • Nashoba Valley Fund
    • North Quabbin Fund
    • Twin Cities Regional Fund

How it works

  • You make an unrestricted gift to one of our four funds (see above) during your lifetime or through a bequest in your will. You can give cash, appreciated stocks, real estate, or other assets.
  • We set up a special fund, with a gift of $10,000 or more (payable over four years), in your name in the name of your family or business, or in honor of any person or organization you choose.
  • You receive tax benefits in the year your gift is made.
  • Our professional program staff determines the areas of community need that would be most impacted by grants from your gift.
  • Our board issues grants in the name of the fund you establish (if you prefer, grants can be made anonymously).
  • We handle all the administrative details.
  • Your gift can be placed into an endowment that is invested over time. Earnings from your fund are used to make grants addressing community needs. Your gift — and all future earnings from your gift — is a permanent source of community capital, helping to do good work forever.

A lasting legacy

Peggy and Ed Gibb always made giving to their community a personal priority. In meetings with their professional advisor, they began to consider including a bequest that would benefit their local community. "Peggy and I care a lot about this town," says Ed. "We wanted to give in a way that would continually help the people who live here." After considering their options, the Gibbs decided to establish an Unrestricted Fund with their local community foundation. The Gibb Community Fund would take effect after they both passed away, leaving a portion of their estate to charity. "By establishing an Unrestricted Fund, we were able to keep our gift from becoming outdated. Community needs change, so we wanted to make sure our gift wasn't too narrowly focused," says Peggy. "Because it’s endowed at the community foundation, our gift will make a difference forever," Ed says. "It will grow over time and become a more and more valuable asset for our community. This is exactly the legacy Peggy and I want to leave."