Donor Services
Ten Ways to Contribute
Monthly & Quarterly Giving
Creating a DA Fund
Leaving a Legacy
You Should Have a Will
Gifting Stock & Securities
Give a Day to World AIDS Campaign

Donor Advised Program
Convening Community
Additional Donor Services

DONOR ADVISED PROGRAM

DONOR ADVISED GRANTMAKING PROVIDES ALTERNATIVES to direct giving or setting up a private foundation. As a Donor Advisor, you contribute cash, securities, or other property to Crossroads Fund and retain the privilege of recommending grants to social change organizations of your choice. You can open a Donor Advised Fund with $10,000 or more, or make individual advised gifts of $1,000 or more. In accordance with IRS regulations, ultimate grant approval remains with our Board of Directors.

Because Crossroads Fund is a public foundation, our Donor Advised Funds are exempt from certain limitations and penalties associated with private foundations, offering you the ability to play an active role in giving while enjoying substantial tax savings. Contributions to your Fund, including gifts of appreciated stock and real property, are immediately tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law, and are invested based on Crossroads' commitment to solid financial performance and social responsibility.

Additional gifts can be added at any time to your special account set up within the foundation. A donor can transfer gifts from a Donor Advised Fund to Crossroads Fund's General Fund and/or nominate fields of interest or other organizations to be the recipients of grants. See below and contact Executive Director Jeanne Kracher, for more information.

Some examples of where our Donor Advised Program might work for you include:

• You recently sold appreciated stocks or real estate that resulted in significant capital gains-- you want to make a large charitable contribution before you have decided on the interest area or specific organizations that you wish to support.
• You are committed to giving to particular issue area(s) and would like skilled assistance in researching and selecting effective organizations in that field of interest.
• You need support in developing and/or refining your family’s annual giving plan, to most successfully align your giving with your values.
• You wish to contribute to specific organizations while retaining full anonymity.
• You wish to continue to play an active role in giving while exempting yourself from certain limitations and penalties associated with private foundations, as well as the hassles of tax reporting, accounting, state and federal registrations and filings, research and reporting. See Advantages of Creating a DA Fund at Crossroads
• You have newly acquired money and want to learn about grantmaking with skilled assistance
• You have newly acquired money and want to learn about grantmaking with skilled assistance
  
  

CONVENING COMMUNITY

Crossroads Fund hosts and co-sponsors with partnering organizations a variety of public and private programs annually. Each concentrates on a specific issue, and includes presentations by, and discussion with, leading activists in the issue of concern. Recent highlights include: 

• Public programs featuring local grassroots organizations and national speakers on race, civil liberties, and the war on terrorism A public program on the Death Penalty in Illinois and the potential issues to address with the new state administration 
• Convenings with Israeli peace activists Uri Avnery and Ishai Menuchin 
• Intimate gatherings across the Chicago area with different grantee organizations and Crossroads Fund supporters 
• Our Annual Spring Benefit, bringing together more than 600 people in support of progressive social change, celebrating the achievements of local grassroots activists, and raising money for Crossroads Fund

Contact us for information on upcoming events. 

ADDITIONAL DONOR SERVICES 

What issues are you most passionate about? Want to connect with other individuals and/or organizations with similar interests? Thinking about creating a giving plan? Interested in socially responsible investing? Would you like to experience some part of the grantmaking experience, such as a site visit to a grassroots organization?

The success of grassroots organizing depends on individuals making a commitment to invest, consistently and generously, in change. Hundreds of people use Crossroads Fund as their vehicle for this investment. Crossroads Fund unites individual visions of what is possible with the organizations that make those concepts a reality.

Crossroads Fund board and staff are great resources, with knowledge and connections that run deep both in terms of the issues and communities that we support, as well as the more technical aspects of grantmaking and organizational development.

Contact us with your questions, needs, or ideas.