The Acorn Society

Everyone can be a Philanthropist through the Tipton County Foundation!

One way to do this is to establish a charitable endowment fund that will distribute earnings or grants to the causes you care about… forever. TCF requires a minimum of $10,000 for a new fund, but with a minimum of $1,000 and consistent annual support, there is a path that will enable more Tipton County folks to ensure a permanent legacy. Like the start of a “mighty oak,” the new approach is called The Acorn Society.

The Acorn Society helps you harness the power of the financial markets to multiply the value of your contributions over time. All you have to do is make regular contributions-and take a charitable tax deduction for them. Investing even small amounts regularly will build an endowment that grows dramatically. We can even include unrestricted memorial or tribute contributions that you make in your named unrestricted fund under the Acorn Society program.

When your Acorn Fund matures by reaching at least $10,000, it becomes a permanent charitable fund within the Tipton County Foundation. At that point your contributions can cease (or continue if you wish) and your fund begins making annual grants. And here’s the best part: it never stops. Every year, generation after generation, the causes you care about will receive support from the Acorn you plant today.

Building an Acorn Fund requires the same kind of planning you would use for a retirement fund or any other investment program. Your Acorn Fund will need to reach a minimum of $10,000 before it can become a grant-making fund within the Tipton County Foundation. Your contributions, multiplied by good investment, will reach these goals in a surprisingly short period of time. Until that time, all of the earnings to your fund will be held, and only the Foundation’s modest annual fee will be charged.

When setting your endowment goal, you will need to consider:

The purpose of your fund

The number and amount of grants you will wish to make each year (to church, alma mater, local charities, etc.)

How quickly you want to meet your goal, and
Your own financial situation.

Decide on gift frequency

You can contribute regular or variable amounts, such as $100 a month, $250 per quarter or $1,000 or more per year. Even with the pledge you make on the form establishing the Acorn fund, the only requirement is that a minimum of $10,000 is endowed within ten years-- whether by your own contributions, by gifts in your honor from loved ones, or matches made from time-to-time by the Foundation.

The more you give, the faster you will reach your goal and the larger your annual tax deduction will be. You can add to your fund at any time, even after it has started making grants.

The Tipton County Foundation will place your Acorn contributions with its other investments managed by some of the top investment firms in the country. Every year, we will report your fund’s earnings in a personal letter, so you can watch its growth for yourself. If your fund does not reach a minimum of $10,000 within ten years (or other time period agreed upon) the TCF Board will transfer it to the endowment of a similarly intentioned fund, or the general fund the Foundation uses to support grants to a wide range of community needs and causes.

Plan Your Charitable Legacy
These decisions need not be made until the Acorn fund endowment is $10,000.

Name your fund. Name it after yourself, a family member or friend, or the cause it will support.

Designate its purpose. Many donors designate a portion of their fund for one purpose and leave the remainder unrestricted. The choice is yours. Funds generally serve one or more of the following purposes:

An “unrestricted” purpose, allowing the Foundation to use fund proceeds for its grantmaking.

A “field of interest” purpose, which directs grants to particular areas, such as education, children, or the arts, but not specifically named organizations.

An “advised” purpose, allowing you and/or your children to recommend grants from your fund each year to charitable causes you prefer.

A “designated” purpose, permanently directing grants to a particular charitable agency or group of agencies.

To plant your Acorn, and become a member of Tipton County’s Acorn Society, please contact the Foundation president at 765-675-1940 or by email. Meanwhile, click the

button to take a look at the standard Acorn Fund Agreement, which will open as a Microsoft Word document that you can open, complete, save, and print.