Welcome to our first post in a short series of Columbus Area Community Foundation walkthroughs! Through this series, we’ll be explaining—in more detail than you probably wanted!—the basics of how you can best use your local community foundation in Columbus, Kansas.
In this post, we’ll answer the question, “How can I donate to the Columbus Area Community Foundation?” The answer depends on whether you want to give to an existing fund or establish an entirely new fund.
Table of Contents
I want to give to an existing fund
First, click the Donate button in the top-right corner of any page on our website or visit ColumbusAreaCF.org/donate. That will take you to the CACF Giving Hub’s featured-funds list. From here, your next step depends on what you want to do:
- I want to support the Columbus Area Community Foundation’s operations
- I want to give to another specific fund at CACF
- I want to give to multiple funds at CACF
I want to support the Columbus Area Community Foundation’s operations
- On the Featured Funds Page. Click on the Donate button in the box for the Columbus Operating Fund.
- On the Columbus Operating Fund Page. Choose whether you want to make a one-time donation or a recurring donation and enter the amount of your donation. You can write any additional notes or specify a person in whose honor or memory you’re making your donation. Click Donate when you’re ready to proceed.
- On the Donation Summary Page. Review the details of your donation. Enter your first and last names, email, and phone number in the designated spaces in the middle of the page. Below that, you can choose to give anonymously or increase your donation by 3% to help cover our processing fees. When you’re done, click Review.
- On the Review Your Information Page. Review the information you entered. If you need to update it, click Update Information. If it’s all correct, click Continue to proceed to a Stripe Checkout page.
- On the Stripe Checkout Page. You may notice that our Stripe Checkout page uses the logo, name, and colors for the Community Foundation of Southeast Kansas (CFSEK). That’s intentional! Because we’re an affiliate of CFSEK, they handle all our administrative needs, including accepting payments. Fill in your payment information and click Pay when you’re done.
I want to give to another specific fund at CACF
- On the Featured Funds Page. You can either click in the “Search Funds” field and start typing the name of the fund you’re looking for or click the Show All Funds button at the bottom of the page. If you use the search feature, you’ll see a list of search results pop up beneath it. Select the fund you’re looking for and skip to step 3 below.
- On the All Funds List Page. Scroll through the list of our funds until you find the one you’re looking for. Click the Donate button next to (or directly below, if you’re on mobile) the fund name.
- On the Fund Page. Choose whether you want to make a one-time donation or a recurring donation and enter the amount of your donation. You can write any additional notes or specify a person in whose honor or memory you’re making your donation. Click Donate when you’re ready to proceed.
- On the Donation Summary Page. Review the details of your donation. Enter your first and last names, email, and phone number in the designated spaces in the middle of the page. Below that, you can choose to give anonymously or increase your donation by 3% to help cover our processing fees. When you’re done, click Review.
- On the Review Your Information Page. Review the information you entered. If you need to update it, click Update Information. If it’s all correct, click Continue to proceed to a Stripe Checkout page.
- On the Stripe Checkout Page. You may notice that our Stripe Checkout page uses the logo, name, and colors for the Community Foundation of Southeast Kansas (CFSEK). That’s intentional! Because we’re an affiliate of CFSEK, they handle all our administrative needs, including accepting payments. Fill in your payment information and click Pay when you’re done.
I want to give to multiple funds at CACF
- On the Featured Funds Page. You can either click in the “Search Funds” field and start typing the name of the fund you’re looking for or click the Show All Funds button at the bottom of the page. If you use the search feature, you’ll see a list of search results pop up beneath it. Select the fund you’re looking for and skip to step 3 below.
- On the All Funds List Page. Scroll through the list of our funds until you find the one you’re looking for. Click the Donate button next to (or directly below, if you’re on mobile) the fund name.
- On the Fund Page. Choose whether you want to make a one-time donation or a recurring donation and enter the amount of your donation. You can write any additional notes or specify a person in whose honor or memory you’re making your donation. Click Donate when you’re ready to proceed.
- On the Donation Summary Page. Click the Featured Funds link at the very top of the page or Fund List button just below the header image to return to step 1; or the All Funds link at the very top of the page to return to Step 2. In either case, the information for the fund(s) you already added is saved to a donation basket, which you’ll see represented with a new link at the very top of the page. You can click that link at any time to return to the Donation Summary Page. When you’ve added all the funds you want to donate to and specified the amount you’re donating to each, review the details of your donation. Enter your first and last names, email, and phone number in the designated spaces in the middle of the page. Below that, you can choose to give anonymously or increase your donation by 3% to help cover our processing fees. When you’re done, click Review.
- On the Review Your Information Page. Review the information you entered. If you need to update it, click Update Information. If it’s all correct, click Continue to proceed to a Stripe Checkout page.
- On the Stripe Checkout Page. You may notice that our Stripe Checkout page uses the logo, name, and colors for the Community Foundation of Southeast Kansas (CFSEK). That’s intentional! Because we’re an affiliate of CFSEK, they handle all our administrative needs, including accepting payments. Also notice that only the grand total is passed from the Giving Hub to Stripe, so you won’t see a breakdown of your donation by fund on this page. Don’t worry! The Giving Hub has saved that information already. Fill in your payment information and click Pay when you’re done.
How do I start a new fund?
The Columbus Area Community Foundation is home to over two dozen charitable funds focused on a range of needs in our community. These funds were created by people like you, and we’re always open to new ideas for funds from individuals, groups, organizations, and businesses that want to address a distinct need or just create a legacy.
Here’s what you need to know:
Fund types
- Agency funds are funds established by nonprofit organizations to benefit themselves. We invest the money in these funds to grow over time, providing ongoing, annual support for the nonprofits making a difference in Cherokee County.
- Designated funds benefit one or more nonprofit organizations selected by the fund founder when the fund is established.
- Donor-advised funds benefit one or more nonprofit organizations recommended by a fund advisor—the fund founder or someone the fund founder designates. These types of funds are extremely flexible, allowing the fund advisor to recommend different nonprofits over time.
- Field-of-interest funds benefit one or more nonprofit organizations or projects that work within a particular field of charitable interest, like health and wellness, food security, housing, or education.
- Scholarship funds provide financial assistance to students pursuing a postsecondary education.
- Unrestricted funds benefit one or more nonprofit organizations at the discretion of the CACF board. This lets our board decide on what organizations benefit based on the changing needs of our community.
Fund duration
Any type of fund can be set up as an endowment or a non-endowment.
- Endowments are designed to last forever. They distribute only a portion of their fund balance each year. They’re a great source of ongoing, annual revenue for the causes that matter to you!
- Non-endowments are designed for maximum flexibility. Up to the entire fund balance can be distributed in any given year. They’re a great tool for having an immediate impact!
Contact us to discuss!
If you’re interested in establishing a new fund with CACF, please contact us! We’ll provide more information about your options and help you design a fund that best embodies your charitable vision.