Unrestricted funds allow the Foundation Board to direct grants to the most pressing demands at a given time.

Field-of-Interest funds target five areas of need. If you have specific concerns about the arts, civic affairs, education, environment, or health and human services, you may wish to consider a field of interest fund. The Foundation Board will make the final decision about disbursement within the field-of-interest.

Donor-Advised funds enable you to be actively involved in grant making. You may establish a permanent fund, where only the income is used to make grants; a nonpermanent fund, in which the principal is expended; or a hybrid, where a portion of the principal may be expended under special conditions outlined in the agreement between the founding donor(s) and the Foundation. You may recommend to the Foundation Board what you wish the fund to support.

Designated funds are earmarked to support a specific nonprofit organization.

Scholarship funds help local students further their education and training.

Agency funds are established by and for existing charitable organizations (e.g. churches and social service organizations), to benefit the organization at the discretion of its governing body, without prior approval of the community foundation board of directors. Agency funds are accounted as liabilities of the community foundation and assets of the charitable organization. The benefits to the charitable organization include marketing of the fund in BCF publicity and investment management, particularly if the fund is the agency's only actively managed investment asset.

Supporting Organizations are separate but affiliated entities, with their own mission and boards of directors, that benefit from the Foundation's management and grantmaking expertise. Supporting organizations are sometimes preferable to establishing private foundations because of their simplicity and services provided by the Foundation staff.

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