Choose Your Fund

Redwood Foundation for Education is here to understand your giving priorities and what you want to accomplish. This helps us to guide your choice of funding options that can be structured to meet your specific charitable goals.

Below are examples of the different types of funds that you can establish.

Scholarship Funds

A Scholarship Fund is a personalized fund you create to help students advance their education, whether that be through a 2 or 4-year school, certificate, apprenticeship or job training program. With the assistance of our staff, you determine scholarship guidelines, including eligibility criteria, and award amount. Depending on the degree to which you’d like to be involved, you may even choose to be a member of the selection committee.

Consider a Scholarship Fund if you:

Seek simplicity and ease in your giving.
Want to support educational opportunities, an educational institution, or course of study.
Want to be engaged in your philanthropy and in creating guidelines and eligibility for award recipients.
Want to honor or memorialize a loved one.
Wish to create a legacy of generosity toward educational endeavors.
Choose to invest in the future of our community by offering students the support they need to achieve their educational goals.

Donor Designated Fund

A Designated Fund ensures ongoing, reliable support for the nonprofit organizations, schools or programs you care about. Redwood Foundation for Education works to help you establish the fund that achieves your unique charitable goals. You can use cash, stock, real estate, or other assets to create a named fund, qualify for an immediate income tax deduction, and Redwood will regularly distribute grants to the designee you identify when you create your fund.

Field Of Interest Funds

Through a Field of Interest Fund, donors can support specific areas of concern. Redwood Foundation for Education will make grants to the most appropriate and effective organizations within the donor’s chosen field of interest.

Field of Interest Funds are an ideal choice if you want to impact a specific philanthropic interest area aligned with Redwood’s mission, such as the arts, school readiness, college access, or a specific geographical area within the region we serve.

Estate Planning Or Life Income Gift

Your professional advisor knows your needs best, and we’re here to help you achieve them. Ask your tax professional or estate planner about creative gift planning options, including:

You can make a bequest to Redwood through your will or living trust. Donors who leave a charitable bequest may qualify for an estate tax deduction based on the value of the gift. You can state your bequest as a set amount of cash, securities, or other assets; or as the “residue” or a “percentage of the residue” of your estate.

You may transfer assets to a charitable remainder trust that provides an annual specified distribution percentage to one or more beneficiaries for life, or a term of years. The remainder interest creates or adds to your Redwood fund.

You may transfer assets to a charitable lead trust. Your Redwood fund receives an income stream for a lifetime or term of years, after which the remaining assets are distributed to you or other beneficiaries.

In larger estates, retirement fund assets distributed to family members may be subject to double taxation, first through the donor’s estate tax, and then through the beneficiaries’ income tax. IRA accounts listing Redwood as the beneficiary pass to your Redwood fund free of estate and income taxes. Not only can Redwood be named as the beneficiary of your life insurance policy, but you can also transfer the policy irrevocably to Redwood. You may be eligible for an income tax deduction for the policy’s cost basis or cash surrender value (whichever is less), and any subsequent premium payments may qualify for a charitable deduction.