Create Your Own Endowment

Your Passion is Our Purpose

With 65 years of experience connecting donors with the causes they care about, we make giving easy. By creating an endowment you can accomplish your charitable goals, now and in perpetuity. As your partner in endowment CFNIL is a trustworthy and caring steward of your charitable intentions and contributions.

  • An endowment is a sustaining gift. It can sustain institutions, causes, and scholastic opportunity. We believe in endowment. It is what we preach and what we practice.

  • Our mission is to attract, preserve, and grow a permanent endowment for the needs of the people of Northern Illinois.

  • An endowment will express your personal values while benefiting the community in your name forever. You may add to your fund at any time.

 

  • Our experienced staff is here to assist you.

  • Our staff is based in Rockford and has a deep knowledge of the area, its people, and its needs.

  • Choosing us to be your partner in endowment, means that you are supporting a local institution that will always serve and be located in Northern Illinois.

  • We have more than 150 community volunteers who evaluate grant and scholarship applications. These experts know the community because they are the community.

  • We are a public charity, so gifts to CFNIL may qualify for maximum tax deductibility. CFNIL is able to accept an array of gifts, including cash, securities, and real assets.

  • We provide prudent, ethical, and objective fulfillment of your charitable intentions.

  • We invest for diversity and long-term growth.

  • We combine individual endowments to reduce administrative costs.

  • CFNIL retains the counsel of an experienced and independent investment consulting firm.

  • Endowments can be named after yourself, a loved one, or a group or organization.

  • Establishing a charitable legacy through an endowment or contributing to an existing endowment at the Community Foundation is easy.

  • There are no upfront costs to create an endowment.

  • We are happy to talk to you, your family, and your financial and legal advisors as you consider creating an endowment.

We’re here to help. Contact us today.

Which Solution is Right for Me?

Whether you want to support students or nonprofits, a single organization or many causes, the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois has a solution to help accomplish your charitable goals.

Have questions about setting up an endowment? We're here to help! Call 779-210-8203 or email us to schedule an appointment with CFNIL staff.

Thanks to donors like you, last year the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois distributed more than $5 million to nonprofit organizations and for scholarships to students.

CFNIL’s grantmaking programs, including Community Grants, distributed nearly half of those funds. To learn more about CFNIL’s grantmaking, visit our Grants page.

Create an Endowment 

Any donor, large or small, may establish a fund at the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois. Donors identify their charitable goals, then our professional staff helps achieve them. The endowment can be named after the donor or someone they wish to honor or memorialize. The endowment may support causes, organizations, or students pursuing education.

For more information, please schedule an appointment by contacting Ciara!

Ciara Stahly - Assistant Development Director - headshot
Ciara Stahly
Assistant Development Director
Phone: 779-210-8203
Email: Ciara Stahly
Donors who establish scholarship funds with CFNIL benefit from the expertise and administrative capacity of staff who organize and manage the entire scholarship application and selection process. Donors may also participate in a scholarship selection committee, which reviews applications and makes the final selection for awards. CFNIL works hard to make the process easy for both Donors and scholarship applicants, so the intent and legacy of each scholarship fund is fully met each and every year.