By Jeff Baldus

Austin Area Foundation director

The primary work of a community foundation is to inspire and work with donors to design gift plans that fit their charitable wishes and make responsive grants to nonprofit organizations working within the community.

Get. Grow. Give.

Get gifts. Grow funds. Give back. It’s what we do here at the Austin Area Foundation. We receive gifts from people from all walks of life and all abilities to give. We invest the gifts we receive so they grow. We give back by making community investments in programs that help our community thrive.

Get gifts

Giving to the Austin Area Foundation does not require great wealth and is not complicated. Whether you choose to give a gift now or later through your estate plan, you have options.

You can:

•Make a donation now to one or more of our Foundation Sponsored Community Funds.

•Contribute to an existing fund.

•Establish a fund with the focus of your choice.

•Arrange a planned gift.

Grow funds

Most of the funds at the Austin Area Foundation are permanent endowments, which means they will benefit our community forever. We invest your gifts so they grow and maximize the resources available to address community needs within the charitable purpose you design. For endowed funds, our investment goals are to preserve the original value of gifts in terms of inflation, and grow our assets as much as market conditions allow so we can:

•Make community investments in programs that address community needs now.

•Ensure there will be resources available to address community needs in the future.

•Support your fund’s charitable purpose, forever.

Give back

The Austin Area Foundation gives back by making strategic community investments in good programs that help the Austin area people, businesses and organizations thrive. We have six main community investment priorities:

•Arts/Culture/Recreation

•Civic Engagement

•Economic Development

•Education

•Environmental Education and Preservation

•Health and Human Services

For more information about giving opportunities, please contact Jeff Baldus, 507-434-7494 or jeff@austinareafoundation.org.