Tellico Community Foundation

Investing in the Legacy!

Gifts to the Tellico Community Foundation are funds committed to critical needs in Tellico Village and the surrounding counties of Loudon and Monroe. These local investments create a legacy and the donations truly make a difference.

The Tellico Community Foundation devotes 40% of all funds raised for grant-making to local organizations in Loudon and Monroe Counties. 60% is placed in the endowment for the future grant-making. A number of charitable giving options exist.

To DONATE NOW please contact Dara Worrell, Director of Regional Advancement, at [email protected]. Online TCF donations can be made at www.etf.org/Tellico

Not yet ready to make a decision?
The information that follows should clarify why investing in the Tellico Community Foundation in a sound choice for a charitable donation.

Donations to the Tellico Community Foundation are c/o The East Tennessee Foundation.
East Tennessee Foundation is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt publicly supported organization; contributions are fully deductible to the extent permitted by law

Why invest with the Tellico Community Foundation?

There are countless reasons why an investment with the TCF makes sense: security, performance, tax benefits, professional management and accountability, privacy, cost convenience and community impact.

Review the FAQs, to help address additional questions.

The affiliation with East Tennessee Foundation provides the Tellico Community Foundation with a resource and vehicle to assist individuals, families, corporations and other interested parties to achieve their philanthropic dreams. This TCF and ETF partnership offers:

Security

East Tennessee Foundation invests the dollars donated to the Tellico Community Foundation. ETF Board of Directors has adopted an investment policy and appoints a volunteer Investment Committee to manage and make all decisions on ETF investments. Members of the Investment Committee are chosen for their business and financial-management experience and serve as volunteers, with no fees paid for their services. To ensure its accountability to donors, beneficiaries, and the region, ETF seeks through its investment policy to maintain or increase real value of the endowment principal and its distributions over the long term while funding currents needs at an appropriate level.

Performance

ETF Investment Committee, in addition to setting investment policy and strategy, monitors investment performance against industry standards. ETF invests its assets for a total return. It then calculates an annual charitable spending budget for each fund based on a percentage (currently 4.5%) of the average principal fund balance over the past 12 quarters. Since inception of the commingled fund (1987), the ETF has earned an average annual total return net of investment management fees of 8% (as of 12-31-2020).

Tax Benefits

The Tellico Community Foundation as an affiliate fund of East Tennessee Foundation is recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as publicly-supported charities, which means donors receive the maximum tax advantages for income, gift and estate tax purposes.

Professional Management and Accountability

All assets are managed by professional money managers who are monitored by a volunteer Investment Committee of local professional and by ETF Board of Directors. An independent auditor provides an annual accounting of all funds and practices.

Privacy

For donors wishing privacy, the Foundation offers anonymous gifting.

Cost Convenience

The Tellico Community Foundation’s affiliation with East Tennessee Foundation eliminates a wide-range of management and operational costs that would fall to the TCF. A small ETF professional staff reduces TCF administrative costs. ETF also pools investments of all 450 plus funds it manages to minimize associated fees. This leaves more money for individual TCF grants.

Community Impact

The combination of TCF’s understanding of local needs and ETF’s knowledge of regional concerns make for more informed decisions about charitable giving.

Making a Gift

Options for making a donation to TCF are cash, checks, various forms of stock, life insurance benefits, etc. ETF will assist TCF and its prospective donor(s) in evaluating any asset of value to determine what is the best philanthropic strategy for deployment. Please contact Jill Murphy, [email protected] at East Tennessee Foundation. Online TCF donations can be made at www.etf.org/Tellico

Frequently Asked Questions about Tellico Community Foundation

Making a charitable donation to any entity is a major decision. To help inform potential donors, the Tellico Community Foundation has assembled a number of questions and answers to inquiries often directed at TCF. The following should help inform the decision-making process for TCF donors.

1. When was the Tellico Community Foundation founded?

Late in 2017, the Tellico Community Foundation was officially designated as an affiliated fund of East Tennessee Foundation. Originally in late 2016 several Tellico Villagers met informally over a period of weeks to discuss the possible formation of a community foundation. Throughout 2017, the group started to formally organize and embarked on a series of discussions with East Tennessee Foundation culminating in an agreement.

2. How many assets does the Tellico Community Foundation have under management?

As of April, 2021, the Foundation has approximately $400,000 under management in its grant-making and endowment accounts.

3. Does the Tellico Community Foundation have an investment strategy for the funds it manages?

The Tellico Community Foundation devotes 60% of all funds raised to endowment. The remaining 40% is directed to grant-making.

4. Is TCF a Tellico Village Foundation?

While many of the TCF Advisory Board members are from Tellico Village, the foundation is committed to acting as a catalyst for raising funds to support human needs and exceptional ideas, not only in Tellico Village, but in the surrounding counties of Loudon and Monroe.

5. What is the relationship between the Tellico Community Foundation and East Tennessee Foundation?

TCF is an affiliate fund East Tennessee Foundation (ETF). TCF is under the administration of ETF. An Advisory Board consisting of nine members of the Tellico Village community and from the surrounding area provides the link between the community and ETF, identifying needs, raising funds, and advising ETF on grants. ETF provides a variety of high-level functional and fiduciary services important to the management of the Fund. For more information on East Tennessee Fund follow www.etf.org

6. How does the investment relationship between Tellico Community Foundation and the East Tennessee Foundation work?

East Tennessee Foundation is a strong financial partner for the TCF. All 450+ funds of East Tennessee Foundation (ETF), are maintained and reported as separate accounts, but are pooled in commingled funds for investment purposes. East Tennessee Foundation has current assets exceeding $500 million (as of December 31.2020). The ETF Investment Committee sets investment policy and strategy, utilizing volunteer managers and monitoring investment performance against industry standards. ETF invests its assets for a total return. It then calculates an annual charitable spending budget for each fund based on a percentage (currently 4.5%) of the average principal fund balance over the past 12 quarters. Since inception of the commingled fund (1987), ETF has earned an average annual total return net of investment management fees of 8% (as of December 31, 2020.)

7. Are there any other benefits accruing to the Tellico Community Foundation from the relationship with East Tennessee Foundation?

One of the primary benefits of the affiliation with ETF is the ability to gain access to research and a program evaluation team. They have experience with donor and professional advisor relationships and capabilities which enhance and increase funds growth and community support. ETF staff has expertise in the analyses of requests to identify the most promising programs and projects. They search within communities, regionally, statewide, and nationally for innovative approaches to community problems and connect organizations that are working on common problems to maximize their effectiveness. This way, donors are assured that their charitable dollars are “gifted” to the best organizations and most worthwhile causes.

8. Has the TCF utilized this research expertise from East Tennessee Foundation?

Yes. TCF, working with ETF team, have identified four high impact focus areas for future grant-making. Working with ETF, the Tellico Community Foundation completed a series of studies and assessments of the four focus areas for potential targeted and impactful support. The areas of emphasis are:

Support for Seniors

Childhood Development

9. How many grants has the TCF made since the foundation’s inception and what is their total value?

As of December 31, 2020, the Tellico Community Foundation has executed ten grants with a combined value of more than $200,000 in the form of funding and land to various groups. (A list of grant recipients is assessable via this link.

10. Does the TCF and ETF have a process for making grants?

TCF grants use a structured grant solicitation, application, review, and award process administered by East Tennessee Foundation with guidance from the TCF Advisory Board. The TCF Advisory Board identifies and evaluates local community needs through studies, focus groups, networking with other charitable groups, and open forums. In addition, TCF coordinates with other charitable organizations in the community to ensure maximum impact is achieved. TCF reviews and evaluates grant proposals, making a recommendation of the grants to be awarded.

Interested in applying for a grant from the TCF? Complete a 100-word grant request and e-mail it to: [email protected]

11. Who is on the Tellico Community Foundation Advisory Board?

Members of TCF Advisory Board are elected to three-year terms. The Board consists of nine members from the Tellico Village community and the surrounding area. They create the link between the community and the ETF. The Board identifies needs, raises funds and advises ETF on grant-making activities.

12. Can donations be made to the Tellico Community Foundation anonymously?

For donors wishing privacy, the TCF offers anonymous gifting.

13. Does the Tellico Community Foundation draw funds away from other Tellico Village charitable groups?

There is a natural concern that TCF will draw charitable giving away from other groups. The TCF does not intend to compete with existing charitable organizations that prospective donors support. The Tellico Community Foundation encourages charitable giving and recognizes that donors have many causes to which they donate. TCF presents another option for donors who are interested in initiating longer-term support for charitable needs of a major nature that are not being addressed by other organizations. In addition, by making a donation that will partially be committed to an endowment, the TCF will build a legacy for the future. This is not something that most local charities can provide.

14. How is the TCF different from the United Way?

TCF is different from a charity such as United Way in that TCF maintains an endowment as well as a grant-making fund. The United Way makes grants from donations received in a given cycle. The TCF grant-making fund will be used to make grants to organizations based on a grant application process and consistent with the TCF focus areas. In this manner, TCF has some similarities to the United Way. The TCF endowment, however, will allow funds to grow and be available for future needs. The United Way does not have endowed funds.

15. Why not just open a Donor Advised Fund (DAF) to utilize for grant-making instead of a donation to TCF?

An East Tennessee Foundation DAF requires a minimum contribution of $10,000 to establish the fund. This may not fit within a donor’s current giving opportunities. Most other DAFs have a similar, if not higher minimum contribution/balance. A DAF does not afford the opportunity for the donor to partner their funds with other TCF donors – the TCF Fund allows donors from all levels/backgrounds/opportunities to partner their funds together in support of the legacy as well as current projects. Once a DAF is created, the donor must be aware of the funding opportunity as well as make a recommendation to award a grant from that DAF for that particular opportunity. By contributing to TCF, the TCF Advisory Board remains continually abreast of the focus areas and projects which are most important for TCF funding support. Dependent upon where the DAF is housed, the due diligence (fiduciary, legal, capacity, sustainability, and programmatic) may or may not be as extensive as is accomplished by ETF and TCF.