Fund Policies & Procedures
These policies and procedures serve as guidelines for establishing and maintaining a Donor-Advised Fund (“Fund”) with Endaoment.
Fees
Endaoment charges inbound and outbound fees to Donor Advised Funds it owns in order to provide Fund services. Fund administration includes due diligence, liquidating assets, sending donation payments, onboarding organizations, and providing the underlying platform for the efficient delivery of these services. Fees are as follows:
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Initial deployment fee to cover GAS cost of creating Fund contract (price varies)
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A tiered inbound fee (maximum of 0.5%) on proceeds generated from each contribution to a Fund
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100 BPS (1.0%) outbound fee on each approved grant recommendation from a Fund
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Funds are also subject to additional fees if assets are deployed into portfolio allocations
Fees are assessed as they are incurred by the Fund to the Fund, processed automatically by Endaoment’s web application. Endaoment’s fees cover:
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Basic due diligence on all grants to US 501(c)(3) organizations.
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Utilize Endaoment’s online portal to access Fund information and submit grant recommendations online
Fund Requirements
A Fund may be established by the Donor paying the deployment cost for the Fund contract and providing a cryptographically-signed message from the deploying Ethereum wallet agreeing to the Donor-Advised Fund Terms & Conditions.
Contributions
Contributions to your Donor-Advised Fund may be made through the web application portal provided by Endaoment. Complex gifts may also be accepted based upon the Gift Acceptance Policies detailed below.
Any cryptocurrencies received by Endaoment which are not subject to SEC restrictions are sold as soon as practicable, except as determined to be in the best interests of Endaoment in its sole discretion.
Contributions of stock that include lot information require Endaoment to forward this information to the donor’s broker as a request for the transfer of said stock. It is important to understand that this action by Endaoment serves solely as a request and does not guarantee that the broker will execute the transfer as instructed. Donors are encouraged to follow up with their brokers for verification purposes.
Endaoment does not guarantee that the Fund will earn any particular rate of return. Endaoment shall not be liable for any diminution in the value of the Fund, including, but not limited to, any losses that may result from the investment of the Fund.
Endaoment shall not be required by any restriction or agreement with any donor, express or implied, to retain any securities or other investment assets transferred to it. Decisions with respect to the retention, investment or reinvestment of assets and with respect to commingling of assets shall be made by Endaoment in its discretion.
Gift acceptance policies
The following cryptocurrencies may be considered for acceptance by Endaoment according to specific criteria to ensure accurate valuation, an understanding of legal and accounting issues, and a thorough understanding of the asset:
Available for in-app donations:
ETH and ERC-20s: we currently accept over 1000 tokens in their native form. A full list can be sent upon request, and all tokens can be viewed within our application when donating. Looking to donate an asset not on Ethereum? We accept other digital assets too! Simply click donate on any Endaoment entity, and indicate that you’d like to send in a donation via an exchange or from cold storage, or donate an NFT, we’ll guide you through the process.
If you have an asset you’d like to donate, you don’t see listed in our app, please feel free to reach out!
Review by counsel may be sought in connection with proposed gifts of illiquid assets, transactions involving potential conflicts of interest or issues concerning federal or state tax laws.
Any legal fees incurred in review of complex gifts will be charged to the Fund.
The processing of a non-Ethereum gift can take up to 24-36 hours, notwithstanding issues with illiquid assets and other legal concerns as mentioned above. Please note that this is an estimate, and may vary depending on considerations specific to your gift. Market fluctuations during this period may impact the value of the gifted asset - Endaoment is not responsible for any impact on the asset’s value that may occur during this time.
The donor may need to obtain a qualified appraisal to support a charitable contribution deduction. Certain alternative investments may require additional appraisals, from time to time, for audit purposes, for which appraisal fees will be charged to the Fund.
Endaoment will not provide legal, financial, investment, accounting or other advice. Endaoment strongly encourages that donors seek the assistance of their own professional advisors.
If any assets proposed to be contributed are not readily marketable or are subject to liabilities or restrictions, the Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer or such person as may be designated by Endaoment, shall have authority to accept or reject the assets proposed to be included in a Fund. A donor may not impose any material restriction or condition which prevents Endaoment from freely and effectively employing the contributed assets, or the income derived therefrom, in furtherance of the charitable purposes of Endaoment.
Minimums: There is no minimum on donation or grant size. Grants will be distributed to the recipient organization when their pending balance meets or exceeds $40.
Fund advisory privileges
Fund Advisors have advisory privileges over a Fund, including grant recommendations, investment recommendations and other Fund administration advisory privileges, consistent with Endaoment policies. Advisors must be immediate family members, except as determined by Endaoment, in its sole discretion. If a Fund is advised jointly, upon the death of one advisor, the remaining advisor(s) retains the rights associated with the Fund. In addition, if the Fund has multiple advisors, any of them, individually, ha sole power to advise on investments and distributions.
Multiple Generations: Successive generations of Fund Advisors on Donor-Advised Funds will be allowed, and may be added at a later date if they are not included when the Fund is created.
Upon the termination, by death or otherwise, of the privilege of all named Fund Advisor(s) to make recommendations, the Fund advisory privileges will be passed to Endaoment.
Grants
A donor shall have the privilege of making recommendations as to grants made from a Fund. In addition to recommending grants to thousands of approved 501(c)(3) organizations, a donor may also choose to recommend grants to Endaoment. Our Philanthropy Advisors are knowledgeable and steeped in all areas of giving, and are also briefed on initiatives and priorities of Endaoment.
Endaoment may impose a minimum size on grant recommendations.
Current law generally prohibits any grants from a Donor-Advised Fund to any individual for any purpose.
“No Donor Benefit”: All grant recommendations must be submitted through the portal and require confirmation clarifying that:
The grant recommended does not represent the payment of any pledge or other financial obligation of any donor, donor advisor, or related person or 35% controlled entity (“Interested Parties”). No Interested Party will accept any benefits or privileges offered in connection with these grants, including good and services (such as auction items), admission to charitable events, payment of dues or membership, or discounts to the foregoing. I agree the following donation is irrevocable and for charitable, educational, or religious purposes under the sole discretion of Endaoment.
Endaoment will perform due diligence to ensure that the Funds are being directed to a qualified charitable organization and in accordance with Endaoment policy. If the staff determines that a grant does not satisfy this requirement, the Fund Advisor shall be so advised.
All grants are transferred directly to the grantee organization when their pending balance meets or exceeds $40. If a grant is recommended in response to an individual Fundraising campaign on behalf of an organization, Endaoment will send the grant to the organization along with a copy of the grant award letter to the individual Fundraiser at your request. Please note that grants may not pay for a pledge made by the donor to the receiving organization.
Any distribution from a Fund, unless otherwise requested by the Fund Advisor, shall identify to the grantee organization the name of the Fund from which the distribution is made and the Ethereum address of the Fund’s contract.
To assure compliance with the Internal Revenue Code, grants are not permitted to private non-operating foundations or for non-charitable purposes; to individuals; for political contributions or to support political campaign activities.
Neither the Fund Advisor(s) nor any related party may receive any benefit or privilege in return for a grant from the Fund. This includes, but is not limited to, tickets to events, auction items, memberships other than religious institutions, school tuition.
The Fund may not pay the tax-deductible portion of a ticket or membership, while the Fund Advisor pays the non-deductible portion out of their pocket. Example: if a charity’s Fundraising event is $200 per person, and the charity states that $100 is tax deductible, and $100 is for the non-tax-deductible ticket, you may not divide the support between a Donor-Advised Fund and your personal check. You must pay the full $200 personally. A grant will not be permitted where but for its payment the charity would not receive the full event price.
No distribution from the Fund may be used to satisfy a legally enforceable pledge or obligation.
Donors can only make non-binding recommendations from their Donor-Advised Fund; they cannot control when and how Endaoment will make grants nor control decisions about which grantees will receive Funding.
Other
Dissolution of Endaoment
If Endaoment dissolves, or for any reason ceases to hold or administer the Fund or otherwise to carry out its obligations under this Agreement, the net assets of the Fund will be distributed to such charitable organizations as Endaoment’s Board of Directors may select, giving consideration to advice offered by the Fund Advisor. Such grants will be subject to the provisions of Endaoment’s Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws and applicable law.
Tax status of contributions
Funds established at Endaoment are component Funds of Endaoment, a Section 501(c)(3) public charity. All contributions to Endaoment’s Funds are treated as gifts to a public charity and qualify as tax-deductible charitable contributions, subject to individual limitations.
The Funds shall consist of property transferred to Endaoment by the Donor or other persons and accepted by Endaoment for inclusion in the Fund, and all income from the foregoing property. Delivery of the property constitutes an irrevocable gift by the Donor to Endaoment.
Variance power
All assets contributed to Funds become irrevocable gifts to Endaoment and legal control and responsibility for the Funds rest with Endaoment. All Funds established at Endaoment are subject to Endaoment’s “variance power,” as set forth in Endaoment’s DAF/Donor agreement. Variance power gives Endaoment the authority to modify any restriction or condition on the distribution of granted Funds for any specified charitable purposes or to specified organizations if, in the sole judgment of Endaoment’s board of directors, such restriction or condition becomes unnecessary, incapable of fulfillment, or inconsistent with the charitable needs of the community served. Additionally, Endaoment retains the right to reject any grant recommendation in favor of an alternative grantee if the original grantee has been suspended from operating as a nonprofit or has some other legal issue, as determined solely by Endaoment’s board of directors.