As your community foundation, we make it simple, meaningful, and responsible to invest in students’ futures. A scholarship fund at the Coral Gables Community Foundation pairs your vision with our expertise—so your generosity changes lives year after year.
We offer comprehensive services to develop and manage your Scholarship Fund, ensuring your goals are met with integrity and impact.
How We Partner With You to Establish a Scholarship Fund
- Define Your Vision: Meet with our team to discuss your purpose, student focus, and preferred award structure. We’ll help you craft clear, fair, and mission-aligned eligibility and selection criteria.
- Establish Your Fund: Open your scholarship fund with an initial gift. You can add to it any time through various methods, including bequests or planned gifts.
- Design Criteria: We translate your goals into clear guidelines and a compliant selection process.
- Launch and Award Scholarships: We manage outreach, applications, convene impartial review committees, and coordinate awards with schools and students.
- See Your Impact: You’ll receive annual reports, have opportunities to meet scholars, and can refine your fund to grow its reach over time.
Our Commitment to Integrity and Transparency
Establishing a scholarship fund carries responsibilities beyond IRS compliance. When you work with us, you gain a partner dedicated to:
- Non-discrimination: Clear policies to ensure fair access and opportunity.
- Conflict-of-interest safeguards: Independent processes that protect the integrity of selection and awards.
- Transparency: Regular reporting, fund statements, and impact updates you can trust.
- Meticulous recordkeeping: Secure documentation of applications, reviews, decisions, and disbursements.
- Compliance leadership: Guidance on state and federal requirements, with scholarship management partners to navigate evolving regulations.
- Data privacy and security: Responsible handling of sensitive student information.
- Strong school partnerships: Collaboration with educational institutions for smooth verification, disbursement, and student support.
Flexible Ways to Establish Your Scholarship Fund
- You can contribute via cash, appreciated securities, IRA qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), donor-advised fund transfers, and estate gifts.
- Choose to create an endowed fund for perpetual support or a current-use fund for immediate impact.
Who Benefits from Your Scholarship Fund
- Students with talent and need who might otherwise be overlooked.
- Families honoring a person, legacy or milestone through education.
- Our entire community, as more graduates return skills and leadership to South Florida.
Fees and Initial Investment
A 5% fee is assessed to cover the management, accounting, and IRS compliance issues. A minimum initial gift of $100,000 is required to start a scholarship fund.
Fund Investment and Growth
Your scholarship fund is professionally invested to promote long-term growth. The investment income generated by the fund is reinvested back into the fund, increasing its capacity to provide scholarships over time. These investment gains are dedicated solely to supporting the scholarship fund and do not go to the Coral Gables Community Foundation.
Sample Budget for a Scholarship Fund
This sample scholarship fund will award $40,000 scholarships ($10,000 per year) to one cohort of 4 students. This example does not add new students each year. A 5% management fee is applied to annual scholarship disbursements.
| Year | Students Supported | Scholarships | 5% Fee | Total Outlay |
| 1 | 4 | $40,000 | $2,000 | $42,000 |
| 2 | 4 | $40,000 | $2,000 | $42,000 |
| 3 | 4 | $40,000 | $2,000 | $42,000 |
| 4 | 4 | $40,000 | $2,000 | $42,000 |
| TOTALS | $160,000 | $8,000 | $168,000 |
For more information, contact:
Mauricio Vivero
President & CEO
Coral Gables Community Foundation
Mauricio@GablesFoundation.org
