Foundation Administration and Management
For many families creating a foundation is an excellent option. It can preserve a family's philanthropic legacy, serve as a means of preparing children to inherit wealth responsibly, or unify a family around a common charitable mission. However, the administrative and compliance burdens can sometimes seem daunting for busy family members. For those clients, and for many of those with donor-advised funds, the Whittier Trust Company's foundation administration and management services are a perfect solution.
Our services are structured to enable clients to be as active - or passive - as they prefer in all aspects of foundation management. We offer the following services:
- Serve as the foundation's central office and coordinate daily business operations
- Maintain correspondence, communications, and records
- Provide support for the foundation's Board of Directors
- Align grant-making guidelines with direction from the Board of Directors
- Review and make recommendations regarding foundation structure and operations as required
Our company also provides grant administration and financial and compliance services.
For clients interested in grants administration, our team can:
- Process grant applications and maintain grant files
- Assist in due diligence review of applicants
- Prepare meeting packets for the Board of Directors, including notices of meetings, agendas, evaluations of grant applications, and financial reports
- Send grant agreements and process grant checks
- Track grant reporting schedules
For clients interested in financial and compliance services, our team can:
- Prepare financial statements, reports on accounts payable and receivable, and bank account reconciliations
- Maintain the general ledger, record investment transactions and journal entries and prepare the trial balance
- Prepare quarterly reports to the Board of Directors, including commitment status and contributions paid
- Review and coordinate foundation policies and operations
- Work collaboratively with outside CPAs and auditors and provide required information for the preparation of annual tax and information returns and audits