Restricted Funds

Make a gift that will support causes of great personal importance to you during and after your lifetime.

A Restricted Fund is a charitable contribution whose use is earmarked to a purpose of the donor’s choosing. Restricted Funds are separately accounted for, named, and tracked to ensure that the intended purpose is met in perpetuity. They are, however, invested with the Federation’s own Endowment to provide the same investment opportunities and financial oversight of the Investment Committee.

Restricted Funds offer donors great flexibility in providing annual financial support to an organization, program, or cause of importance to them.  

To provide both community-wide and targeted giving, many donors supplement their unrestricted annual campaign gift with a Restricted Fund.

Benefits of a Restricted Fund include:

  • Making a gift that will provide an impact both during and after the donor’s lifetime
  • Naming the Fund in a way of significance to the donor
  • Supplementing unrestricted giving with a more targeted gift
  • Establishing a Fund that will be expertly managed by the Federation’s Investment Committee
  • Easy to set up – just send a check or name the Federation in your will
  • Option to support multiple organizations or causes through one Restricted Fund
  • Additions can be made at any time

Restricted Funds are set up in two primary ways:

  1. During the donor’s lifetime or after. To set one up now, it’s as easy as sending in a check with a description of your restrictions; or,
  2. You can name the Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund in your will and the Fund will be established upon your passing. (More information on legacy giving.)

Once established, donors have the comfort of knowing that grants will forever be made to the organization or cause that they selected.

Every Restricted Fund is unique, as the specific restrictions placed on the gift differ from Fund to Fund.  

A few examples of many include:

  • A local synagogue opens an Agency Endowment Restricted Fund to support the charitable and religious purposes of the synagogue. The money is invested in the Federation’s Endowment Pool with automatic annual distributions sent to the synagogue or upon request.
  • A donor creates a Restricted Fund to permanently endow the donor's Federation Annual Campaign gift. The principal gift remains untouched in perpetuity with the annual income sent to the Federation’s unrestricted Annual Campaign in the donor’s name.
  • A donor makes a gift to support people and programs in Israel.
  • A donor creates a Restricted Fund to make annual grants for Jewish summer camp scholarships.
  • A donor wants to honor a loved one by endowing a lecture series in the loved one's name.
  • A donor makes a gift to establish a Restricted Fund with annual grants supporting Jewish seniors.
For more information, please contact:
Steve Brown
Senior Director, Gift Planning and Endowments
415.512.6250