Rochester Area Foundation - Rochester, MN

Mission Statement
The Mission of the Rochester Area Foundation in Rochester, MN, is to strengthen community philanthropy by promoting responsible and informed giving and to assist donors in meeting their charitable objectives. The Foundation is dedicated to using its resources to improve the quality of life, to promote greater equality of opportunities, and to support development of effective methods to assist those in need in Olmsted County.

Background
Since 1944, the Rochester Area Foundation has served the people of the area as an effective conduit for giving. Grants from the Foundation have helped solve emerging social problems, expand educational and artistic opportunities, launch new programs, and sustain proven initiatives.

General Information
The Foundation is governed by 14 volunteer trustees, each a community leader who values the role of philanthropy in building our community. There are also two full-time staff members.

The Rochester Area Foundation seeks to create solutions today that work towards shaping a better tomorrow by establishing, building, maintaining, and stewarding endowment funds. These funds offer the flexibility of preserving the wishes of the donors while meeting the changing needs of the community over time. The Foundation’s financial resources are used to make grants available to area organizations that improve the quality of life for individuals of our region. In addition, the Foundation sponsors special projects, convenes people to explore emerging and pressing issue that affect the community, and collaborates with other organizations and agencies to anticipate challenging community problems and identify new solutions for these problems.

Donations
The Rochester Area Foundation solicits, receives and manages charitable gifts from individuals, families, corporations, and other foundations and charitable organizations. Donors can give unrestricted gifts, allowing the Foundation to use its discretion in distributing grants. In addition, donors can designate gifts for one or more specific purposes or nonprofit organizations. Donors’ gifts may be directed toward the following areas:

• Unrestricted purposes, to be used at the discretion of the Board of Trustees, enabling the Foundation to respond to the changing needs of the greater Rochester area
• Donor Advised Fund, allowing the donor to recommend specific organizations to receive grants from their funds. Final approval is made by the Foundation’s Board of Trustees
• Agency Endowment, used for a specific organization, particularly organizations whose contributions fluctuate with changing economic conditions.
• Field-of-Interest Fund, used for a specific area, such as education or the arts.
• Designated Fund , distributing grants to agencies specified by the donor at the time the fund is established
• Administrative Fund, for ongoing support of the Rochester Area Foundation’s programs and services

The Rochester Area Foundation offers several options for giving:

• Cash or check
• Appreciated securities
• Employer matching gifts
• Charitable remainder unitrusts
• Charitable remainder annuity trusts
• Charitable lead trusts
• Life insurance policies
• Real estate/farm land
• Gifts through personal or family foundations
• Bequests

For more information, contact the Rochester Area Foundation at 507-282-0203 or e-mail rafmn@aol.com.