Resources

These days we’re just FJC. The organization was founded under the name “The Foundation for the Jewish Community” but quickly outgrew its name as its donor base grew and diversified, as did the nonprofit charities that donors supported. Decades ago, FJC decided to be known simply as its acronym “FJC”, like IBM, AT&T, and HBO. Our full name is “FJC – A Foundation of Philanthropic Funds” but we just go by “FJC”.

The stakeholders who know us best understand that we “stand for” the values that we live every day, namely: expertise, creativity, nimbleness, responsiveness, and reliability.

FJC offers a range of low-cost mutual fund options that include stocks, bonds, and money market products, as well as our pioneering impact investment option, the Agency Loan Fund.  For more information about what we offer, see our menu of investment options.

FJC doesn’t provide investment advice. Every donor at FJC must choose an investment mix that fits their appetite for risk and return, commitment to mission, as well as their time horizon for giving. We recommend using the same rules of thumb that you might apply to a retirement account.

Yes, this information is available upon request.  Please contact us.

You can recommend changes to your investment options at any time.  We’re always available by phone if you want to think out loud about this.

FJC allows donors with assets above a certain size (typically around $1 million, but we can be flexible) to recommend positions in alternative investments, hedge funds, or other instruments.  All recommendations must be vetted and approved by FJC’s Investment Committee.  Please contact us to learn more.

FJC has made accommodations like this through our Alliance program.  If an investment advisor or wealth manager brings FJC a critical mass of client assets to FJC (typically around $1 million, but we can be flexible), we will allow the advisor / manager to manage the assets.  Please visit the For Wealth Advisors section of our site to learn more, and feel free to put us in touch with your advisor to explore this option.

If your advisor is not interested in an Alliance Relationship but still wants to view your account activity through our donor portal, please let us know.

Like all assets donated to FJC, the appreciated stock becomes legally FJC’s asset as soon as it is donated.  As a matter of policy and practice, FJC liquidates the stock immediately upon receipt, and we then invest the proceeds according to the donor’s Investment Allocation.

FJC sometimes receives a contribution of illiquid or lightly traded stock (for example, founder stock in a company that has not yet gone public). The prospective donor may have concerns about FJC selling the stock all at once because of the effect this may have on the company or share price.  In cases like these, FJC may consider the donor’s recommendation of a different schedule.  All arrangements must be vetted and approved by the FJC Investment Committee, which remains the ultimate arbiter of the pace at which we sell the asset.

When an account holder donates illiquid stock to FJC, FJC will issue the donor a receipt that confirms the date of the transfer and the number of shares of the stock. FJC does not certify the value of contributed assets.  It’s up to the donor and his or her tax advisor to determine and report the value of the donation to the Internal Revenue Service.

Basically, no donor who has opted to invest in the Agency Loan Fund has ever lost principal on that investment.  For as long as FJC has been making loans to nonprofits, a private foundation has protected FJC donors from experiencing any losses.

The investment committee weighs several factors when vetting a proposed investment, including the investment’s relative level of risk, its liquidity constraints, how long the investment will be held for, its associated costs, and whether it poses any risks to FJC as a 501(c)(3).  For example, if an investment causes earn income through an activity that is unrelated to their exempt purposes, it could trigger Unrelated Business Income Taxation (UBIT). 

Many of our donors who want to grow their accounts while supporting nonprofit missions participate in our pioneering Agency Loan Fund, a pooled investment vehicle managed by FJC where donor capital is provided to fellow 501(c)(3) organizations in the form of short-to-intermediate-term loans. 

For more donors looking for a more traditional vehicle, we also offer a low-cost mutual fund managed by Vanguard, known as the Vanguard FTSE Social Index Fund (VFTAX), which consists of a diversified portfolio of equities that meet the FTSE Social Index’s criteria for sustainable and responsible Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) policies and procedures.

Technically, when a donor donates cash, appreciated securities or other assets to FJC, those assets become legally the assets of FJC.  Since FJC assumes legal ownership of the assets at the time of donation, FJC and its Board of Directors ultimately controls decisions about the use of those assets.  As with other sponsors of Donor Advised Funds, FJC has the sole right to invest and manage the investment of all Donor Advised Funds.  Donors, however, retain recommender privileges related to the resources in their accounts.  This means that donors can recommend how those assets are invested as well as how they are disbursed as grants to 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations.  At FJC we pride ourselves on our responsiveness to donor recommendations.

FJC staff perform due diligence on every grant to ensure that every recommended organization is a legitimate 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.  Every grant must also be approved by FJC’s Grants Committee, which is comprised of members of FJC’s Board of Directors.  The Grants Committee performs due diligence to ensure each grant is consistent with FJC’s charitable purposes, namely: charitable organizations in the fields of education, inter-group relations, culture, health service, social service, religion, science, and the environment in the United States; and organizations serving charitable purposes throughout the world.  (This is broad enough to encompass basically any qualified nonprofit charity).

In 2019, FJC joined a number of DAF sponsors in signing onto the Hate is Not Charitable campaign, in order to take a stand against the use of philanthropic funds to support organizations that foment hatred.  As part of this commitment we added a screen for our grant recommendations to exclude any organizations cited by the Southern Poverty Law Center as hate groups.

Very rarely.  At FJC we pride ourselves on our responsiveness to donor recommendations.  

Sometimes donors recommend grants to organizations that are not qualified 501(c)(3) organizations, and we are not able to approve them.  We also decline grants on the rare occasions when a donor recommends a grant to an organization that is considered a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.  

Other instances where FJC is required to reject a grant recommendation include:

• Pledges – FJC cannot honor pledges that you have made to an organization. The IRS considers this a personal obligation that you have entered into and cannot be honored through your Donor Advised Fund. (FJC can honor solicitation requests.)
• Tuition – No form of tuition, or the enrollment fees for extracurricular activities, can be paid from your Fund. If a distribution to a school is submitted without a specific designation, FJC will confirm with the school, in writing, that the funds received will not be applied to the tuition of any particular individual.
• Gift Intended for the Benefit of One Named Individual – FJC cannot honor recommendations for gifts that will benefit one named individual. For example, “Please apply this gift towards the tuition of John Smith.”

Gifts, however, can be designated for funds being raised by a particular individual for an event. For example, “This gift is designated for Jane Smith’s participation in the Race for a Cure.”

No, grants from Donor Advised Funds can’t be used to cover these costs.  The IRS considers these uses to include some benefit (e.g. a meal or sponsorship) and they won’t allow grants from Donor Advised Funds to be applied to them.   As a result, FJC will not distribute funds, for example, to cover the tax-deductible portion of a dinner ticket to a fundraising gala.  Similarly, FJC can not distribute grant funds to cover a museum membership if some portion of the membership is not tax deductible. 

FJC’s donor portal pulls data from an online searchable database of all IRS 501(c)(3) charities powered by Candid, a nonprofit partnership of the Foundation Center and Guidestar, whose data tools on nonprofits, foundations, and grants are the most comprehensive in the world. Our donor portal is powered by this tool so that all of our donors can research potential grantees. 

There are many reasons this may occur.  Sometimes an organization may change its address or name, and there may be a lag in how this information is updated in our database. If you find this to be the case, you can use the drop down menu to “Add New Address.”  Also you can email fjc@fjc.org with the updated information and we can make the changes.

Some grantees share a name but have different locations. Please be sure to select the grantee with the correct address, or use the drop down menu to “Add New Address”.

In the “Make a Grant” section, please select “Click here to enter your grantee” to submit a new organization. You can also send an email to fjc@fjc.org with the organization’s name, address, tax ID number, and website and we will enter the organization into the system.

The process from grant recommendation to approval and disbursement typically happens within ten business days.  Our Grants Committee reviews grant recommendations once per week (typically in the middle of the week).  Once recommendations are approved our staff moves quickly to disburse funds.

Starting in spring 2020  we began making grants using bank-to-bank transfers (Automated Clearing House, or ACH). To enable our ACH payment system, FJC has set up a master account with a company called Bill.com, a provider of cloud-based software that automates back-office financial operations for small and midsize businesses.  Each grantee receives an email from us notifying them that they have received a grant from FJC, prompting them to set up a username and password and enter their banking account information. If they receive subsequent grants, they will need to log in to receive grants, but they will not need to re-enter their account information unless their bank account changes.

Organizations that successfully complete the process of signing up for a Bill.com account often can receive grants much faster than our typical 10-day window.

If an organization has not signed up to receive ACH payments, FJC will issue a check and send via US Postal Service. Grant payments mailed by check is the  most common reason why donors and their grantees experience delays in the process. We welcome organizations to reach out to FJC to enroll in ACH payments by submitting this form.

Generally about two-thirds of our grantees successfully go through this process of setting up a Bill.com account to receive ACH payment.  For the remaining one-third, we try a few times to get them to sign up for the account.  If they don’t respond we direct Bill.com to send them a paper check through the mail.  This can add many days to the check-clearing process, because the process relies on the US Postal Service and introduces more room for error.  For example, checks may get lost in the mail, or organizations may not always immediately deposit paper checks.  Furthermore, like many small businesses, many nonprofits are facing operational challenges during the Covid-19 pandemic that can slow down routine transactions.

You can help FJC to accelerate this process by helping our grantees embrace the electronic payment protocols. 

You can email our general email inbox (FJC@FJC.org) or call our main telephone number, and a staff member will respond within one business day.    

No. FJC provides a tax receipt to donors when they donate assets to FJC, but not when they recommend grants from their account. The tax deductible event happens when funds are granted to FJC, and that’s the event that donors report to the IRS for tax deductibility (not the subsequent grantmaking activity from the DAF account).  You can always review your grantmaking activity through the reports available through our online donor portal.

Donors have a range of options for how their grantmaking is acknowledged, including anonymously.  Other options include crediting the donor, the name of their fund, or FJC itself.  Our donor portal includes a drop-down menu where you can select the option that you like.

FJC has a number of mechanisms to enable the next generation of your family to engage with DAF accounts.  

Young Philanthropist Fund.  An FJC Young Philanthropist Fund is a donor advised fund that can be established for someone college age or younger. The features of the Young Philanthropist Fund accounts are similar in most respects to our DAF accounts, but they require only a $1,800 initial contribution to get started.  For more information click here.

Additional Recommenders.  Donors have the privilege of appointing Additional Recommenders – individuals who may recommend investments of, and contributions from, the fund. Typically, FJC limits the number of additional recommenders to four, but we do not limit the number of children and spouses who may serve.

Successor Recommenders. You may designate Successor Recommenders to assume the role of a Recommender at the time of your death, or designate a final distribution of funds to the charities of your choice once no eligible Recommenders exist on the account.

For some families, using the mechanics of giving listed above is all they need to get started introducing their next generation to philanthropy.  Other families may want a deeper engagement with us that includes facilitated conversations about values, and translating those values into philanthropic practice.  FJC staff are available to engage on that level too.

Identifying Successor Recommenders is not required to open an account, but we highly recommend that you designate them.  You may designate Successor Recommenders to assume the role of a Recommender at the time of your death.  You may also designate a final distribution of funds to the charities of your choice once no eligible Recommenders exist on the account.

For donors who do not elect one of these options, the remaining balance will be placed in the General Endowment Funds of FJC, and may carry a name designated by the Donor or, at the discretion of FJC, may be distributed to one or more previously recommended charities.

Yes, you can recommend a loan to an organization of your choice using funds in your DAF account, on terms that you determine (interest rate, maturity, amortization).  We call these “Customized Loans.”  Customized Loans can be converted to a grant at your discretion, or if they are repaid they can return to your account and funds can be recycled as loans or grants.  Interest paid on these loans also accrue to your DAF account.  

FJC has a long track record of lending to nonprofits through our Agency Loan Fund, and we encourage donors to leverage this expertise.  Once your recommendation is approved by our Grants Committee, FJC staff will work with you to review the organization’s financials, negotiate the loan terms, and draft the loan agreement documents.

Putting capital in your DAF account to work as a Customized Loans is quite different from participating in FJC’s Agency Loan Fund (ALF) as an investment vehicle. In the case of ALF, FJC staff identify the borrowers, assess credit risk, and negotiate the terms of the loans with borrowers and determine the interest rate. For Customized Loans, donors are responsible for those steps, and the donor’s account bears the risk if the loan is not repaid.  Customized Loans do not benefit from the credit enhancement that is provided to ALF.  When Customized Loans are written off, they are essentially converted to grants.

Donors may continue to mail checks to FJC, but the fastest, most efficient way to send money is by electronic means (credit card, wire, PayPal, or ACH / bank-to-bank transfer).

FJC donors have donated real estate (including residential and commercial properties), limited partnership interests in investment companies, and illiquid or lightly traded stock in anticipation of an Initial Public Offering.  In 2020 we accepted our first donation of Bitcoin.  We appreciate donors that come to us with innovative ideas.  Assets other than cash or appreciated stock must be vetted and approved by FJC’s Gift Acceptance Committee and Investment Committee.  

Please note that if an account is fully illiquid, FJC will require donors to make regular contributions of cash or appreciated securities to cover the quarterly fees associated with the account. 

In the case of real estate and most other illiquid assets, FJC usually moves to liquidate the asset as soon as possible to enable the donor to begin grantmaking.  In some cases (like investments that are subject to lock-up periods), FJC will allow the investment to remain on its books.  Typically these investments generate enough cash to pay the account fees and allow the donor to disburse grants to nonprofits.  Otherwise, FJC may require donors to make periodic donations of cash or securities sufficient to pay the quarterly account fees.

Unlike a wire or check, which includes counterparty information about the donor, donations of stock are received in our brokerage account with limited information, such as the name of the financial institution that made the transfer.  As a result, our ability to trace these securities back to their account of origin is limited.  Sending us a fax or email in advance helps us anticipate the donation and credit your account faster.

When a donor donates illiquid assets (or any asset) cash, to FJC, those assets legally become the assets of FJC.  As with other sponsors of Donor Advised Funds, since FJC assumes legal ownership of the assets at the time of donation, FJC and its Board of Directors ultimately has exclusive control of all decisions about the use of those assets.  FJC has the sole right to invest and manage the investment of all Donor Advised Funds including the subsequent sale of donated assets, although donors retain the right to make recommendations.

FJC sometimes receives a contribution of illiquid or lightly traded stock (for example, founder stock in a company that has not yet gone public). The prospective donor may have concerns about FJC selling the stock all at once because of the effect this may have on the company or share price.  In cases like these, FJC may consider the donor’s recommendation of a different schedule.  All arrangements must be vetted and approved by the FJC Investment Committee, which remains the ultimate arbiter of the pace at which we sell the asset.

When an account holder donates illiquid stock to FJC, FJC will issue the donor a receipt that confirms the date of the transfer and the number of shares of the stock. FJC does not certify the value of contributed assets.  It’s up to the donor and his or her tax advisor to determine and report the value of the donation to the Internal Revenue Service.

FJC does not provide tax advice, and we encourage you to speak with your accountant or tax advisor to answer this question.

Our nonprofit borrowers typically use proceeds from Agency Loan Fund for capital projects, to bridge contract or grant receivables, to even out cash flow or to address short-term needs.  Loans range in size from $10,000 up to $4 million, with terms up to 5 years.  Our interest rate is the Prime Rate + 3.0%.  

We work with all types of borrowers, from social service organizations, to housing the homeless, public media, arts organizations and many more. 

Nonprofit organizations have limited lender options for this kind of financing, including traditional banks or nonprofit lenders like Community Development Financial Institutions.  Our nonprofit borrowers appreciate our understanding of the nonprofit sector, the speed with which we can make credit approval decisions, and the fact that FJC typically does not charge closing fees, legal fees, or prepayment penalties.

The process begins with a potential borrower’s submission of FJC’s standard loan application. An FJC committee composed of board and staff generally meets with a loan applicant’s representatives to review the application, including the organization’s financial statements, staff and board of directors, description of available collateral, and to discuss the structure of the potential loan.  The loan committee considers: the cost and viability of the project; the applicant’s ability to manage the loan’s debt service and maintain operations; the organization’s ability to repay the loan in full; the applicant’s capacity to manage the project, with in-house or outside expertise.

FJC has a long track record of making loans to nonprofit borrowers that have been successfully repaid.

Loans originated through ALF bear an interest rate of the Prime Rate + 3.0%, which is paid quarterly.  The interest payments that borrowers pay is the source of revenue for the pool, and the accounts of all donors who invest in the Agency Loan Fund receive their pro rate share of the interest that’s generated by the pool of loans. 

The return to donors is a function of the utilization rate of ALF, which typically hovers around 50%.  Funds not invested in loans to nonprofits are invested in money market funds, which earn a lower rate of return, and the return to donors is ultimately a blend of those rates.  Factors that affect the utilization rate include the number of donors that choose ALF as an investment vehicle, the demand for loans from ALF, and our need to maintain liquidity.

Yes, FJC maintains liquidity in the fund and has other sources of liquidity on its balance sheet to accommodate the grantmaking activities of donors that invest in ALF.  Donors invested in the ALF product can continue to make grants at any time.

On the very rare occasions when a loan is not repaid, the credit enhancement provided by a private foundation partner protects all donors whose accounts are invested in the Agency Loan Fund.  To date, no donor invested in the Agency Loan Fund has experienced a loss in principal.

We welcome referrals to the Agency Loan Fund.  Like any organization applying for a loan, each prospective borrower must submit an application and undergo our rigorous due diligence process.  We also encourage donors to make Customized Loans using funds in their DAF accounts on terms that they choose.

Our Agency Loan Fund is an impact investment vehicle for donor capital.  When donors set up a DAF account, they make a charitable contribution to FJC, and then they can make recommendations both about how those resources are deployed as grants, and how the assets are invested for growth in the meantime.  The Agency Loan Fund is several options that FJC offers its donors for how their funds are invested, and many donors choose the Agency Loan Fund because it allows their accounts to grow while being invested for impact in nonprofit organizations.  

Principal and interest payments paid by borrowers to FJC are recycled for philanthropic purposes. FJC’s Agency Loan Fund has advanced over $280 million in loans to over 200 non-profit organizations globally.

All kinds of nonprofits.  Borrowers include social service agencies, housing development organizations, arts and culture organizations, religious institutions and many more.  Many of our borrowers are in New York City (where we are located) but we have also made loans throughout the U.S. and in some cases internationally. 

On rare occasions, FJC has made loans to for-profit companies that can demonstrate that clear environmental or social impacts are core to their business model.  We are open to receiving inquiries from social purpose businesses and certified B Corporations. 

We don’t have a standardized product or term sheet, and every loan is different.  The size of our loans ranges from small ($10,000) to medium sized ($4 million).  For loans bigger than that, we can coordinate our lending with other organizations and institutions as co-lenders or participants.  Borrowers typically use loans for capital projects, to bridge contract/grant receivables, to even out cash flow, and to address other short-term needs.  Our loans are nearly always secured by real estate or other collateral, and we often require guarantees by other organizations, Board Members, or other individuals associated with the organization.  FJC does not offer revolving loans. Once a loan size has been established, borrowers may draw down funds only as needed to avoid unnecessary interest expense.  FJC loans carry an interest rate of 3% plus the current Prime Rate as published by the Wall Street Journal. All FJC’s loans are pre-payable without penalty. The loan terms do not exceed 5 years and may be structured as interest only with a “balloon”, scheduled principal payments or amortizing.

FJC typically does not charge any other fees on its loans: no closing fee, no legal fee.   We welcome our potential borrowers to shop around to traditional financial institutions, community development financial institutions (CDFIs), and other lenders that may offer a lower interest rate.  Borrowers who work with FJC typically choose us because of our nimbleness, flexibility, and speed. (See below).  Many of our borrowers also appreciate knowing that their interest payments return to FJC donor accounts and are fully recycled for philanthropic purposes.

FJC prides itself on its ability to move quickly from inquiry, to underwriting, to execution and funding.  The process begins with a potential borrower’s submission of FJC’s standard loan application. An FJC committee comprised of board and staff generally meets with a loan applicant’s representatives to review the application, including the organization’s financial statements, staff and board of directors, description of available collateral, and to discuss the structure of the potential loan. FJC’s boutique nature allows it to make decisions quickly with minimal layers of bureaucracy.  Although every loan is different, often a decision can occur within a few weeks of receiving the application, depending on the organization’s responsiveness and its ability to provide the loan committee comfort regarding: the cost and viability of the project; the applicant’s ability to manage the loan’s debt service and maintain operations; the organization’s ability to repay the loan in full; the applicant’s capacity to manage the project, with in-house or outside expertise. A borrower’s plan to repay cannot be solely dependent on fundraising.

We are looking for organizations that are led by passionate and capable managers who are dedicated to executing on their organizations’ missions.  Organizations need not necessarily have borrowed money before, but they must demonstrate sound fiscal management.  In addition, borrowers must take their obligations seriously and be proactive in communication if any issues arise that may put timely payment of interest or repayment of loan principal in jeopardy.  Core to FJC’s mission is stewarding the philanthropic resources on behalf of our donors, so we expect our borrowers to fully stand by the obligations negotiated in our loan agreements.

Please email Meghan Hudson at FJC for an application (Hudson@FJC.org). 

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. All applications must include a clear overview of the proposed activities, projected budgets the next two years, and a summary of the staff and/or board members associated with the project. Once FJC has received all the requested materials, the application will be circulated to the Fiscal Sponsorship Committee for review. FJC will notify applicants of the Committee’s decision and, if the application is approved, an FSP Agreement will be executed. The length of the application process depends on several variables, including how complete the application is at the time of submission and the nature of the project

We are looking for organizations that are led by passionate and capable managers who are dedicated to executing their organizations’ missions.  Organizations do not need to be incorporated, but if they are,  they should be incorporated as nonprofits in their respective state. We do not offer fiscal sponsorship to organizations with 501(c)3 status. Organizations need not necessarily have formal financials, but they must demonstrate sound fiscal management.

FSP allows projects to collect contributions for their work, which are fully deductible to the donor. Contributions can be made by check, credit card, appreciated securities (including mutual funds), or wire transfer.

FJC will send each donor a receipt for all eligible contributions, confirming the donation’s tax deductibility. You can send personal thank you letters to your donors, but only FJC can address tax deductibility.

FJC provides access to an account portal, where you will have access to your account activity, statements, donors’ information, donors’ receipt letters, and forms you may need. The reports on the account portal provide you with all of the information that we have about your contributions and disbursements.

Requests for disbursements with accompanying invoices or receipts. FJC prefers to pay vendors directly, but can issue reimbursements when necessary. FJC does not provide formal payroll, but can provide guidance for how best to set up a third-party payroll system. Disbursements are processed once a week.

Starting in spring 2020 we began making payments using bank-to-bank transfers (Automated Clearing House, or ACH). To enable our ACH payment system, FJC has set up a master account with a company called Bill.com, a provider of cloud-based software that automates back-office financial operations for small and midsize businesses.  Each vendor receives an email from us notifying them that they have received a payment from FJC, prompting them to set up a username and password and enter their banking account information. After the first electronic payment, subsequent payments will be automatically remitted electronically by ACH.

Reports are due every 6 months and must include a narrative of how funds were used from the account, a categorized line-item accounting of the distributions, and narrative detailing the project’s progress and new goals. FJC sends an updated agreement renewal every year.