Giving circle fund policies and guidelines
We are committed to providing you with flexibility, proven stewardship and exceptional service to make the most of your giving circle fund. We look forward to serving your giving circle and assisting with grantmaking goals.
Whenever you have questions regarding your giving circle fund or any of the policies and guidelines described, pleasecontact us .
Whenever you have questions regarding your giving circle fund or any of the policies and guidelines described, please
Creating your giving circle
What is a giving circle fund?
A giving circle is a form of participatory philanthropy. Through a giving circle fund, each giving circle participant makes a gift or gifts to the pooled fund and receives a charitable tax deduction for their gift. As a group, the giving circle determines IRS-qualified charities to receive support.
Setting up your circle
How your giving circle fund will be administered is based on information provided in the online application. Please review this information from our staff before participants make gifts to your giving circle fund.
You have the option to name a contingent charitable beneficiary for your giving circle. This charity would receive support should your giving circle cease to exist. For example, some giving circles may select the church or other charity with whom its participants are affiliated. Your circle may also name aCollaborative Fund as your contingent charitable beneficiary.
To make changes to your giving circle, pleasecontact us .
Role of fund advisor
The person designated to serve as fund advisor to your giving circle fund is typically the chair or lead advisor of the giving circle, or perhaps treasurer or president of the group. Giving circles are encouraged to designate a specific position within their circle versus an individual’s name.
The role of fund advisor includes responsibility for requesting grant distributions to charitable organizations. These requests are to be in agreement with any decisions, policies and purposes established by the participants of the giving circle and after the appropriate decision making process is complete. Additionally, for invested giving circles (those that only grant a portion of gifts each year, investing the remainder to grow over time for long-term support of charities), the fund advisor is responsible for recommending the investment allocation of giving circle fund assets. The fund advisor receives online giving circle fund statements and has full online access to your giving circle fund through our online fund dashboard.
Authorizing online access to your giving circle fund
The fund advisor of your giving circle fund may authorize additional interested parties, such as co-chairs, executive committee participants or professional advisors (e.g., financial advisor) with read-only online access to information regarding your giving circle fund. This authorization can be made when the online application is completed or updated by the fund advisor once the giving circle fund is established. Financial professional(s) identified in the online application are provided with read-only online access to your giving circle fund activity (i.e., contact information, contributions and distributions). If you wish to authorize or restrict online access to your financial advisor and/or others, pleasecontact us .
Giving circle fund disclosure
You can provide Thrivent with permission to publish your giving circle fund’s name in our publications (e.g., annual report, newsletters, social media and website) by checking the designated box in the online application. If no box is checked, we assume you do not wish for your giving circle fund to be listed publicly. You also have the option to have your giving circle fund’s name shared with charities when grant distributions are sent. If no box is checked in this section of the online application, your giving circle fund’s name will not be shared with benefiting charities, and grants from your giving circle fund will be anonymous. You may change your disclosure preferences at any time. To do so, pleasecontact us .
A giving circle is a form of participatory philanthropy. Through a giving circle fund, each giving circle participant makes a gift or gifts to the pooled fund and receives a charitable tax deduction for their gift. As a group, the giving circle determines IRS-qualified charities to receive support.
Setting up your circle
How your giving circle fund will be administered is based on information provided in the online application. Please review this information from our staff before participants make gifts to your giving circle fund.
You have the option to name a contingent charitable beneficiary for your giving circle. This charity would receive support should your giving circle cease to exist. For example, some giving circles may select the church or other charity with whom its participants are affiliated. Your circle may also name a
To make changes to your giving circle, please
Role of fund advisor
The person designated to serve as fund advisor to your giving circle fund is typically the chair or lead advisor of the giving circle, or perhaps treasurer or president of the group. Giving circles are encouraged to designate a specific position within their circle versus an individual’s name.
The role of fund advisor includes responsibility for requesting grant distributions to charitable organizations. These requests are to be in agreement with any decisions, policies and purposes established by the participants of the giving circle and after the appropriate decision making process is complete. Additionally, for invested giving circles (those that only grant a portion of gifts each year, investing the remainder to grow over time for long-term support of charities), the fund advisor is responsible for recommending the investment allocation of giving circle fund assets. The fund advisor receives online giving circle fund statements and has full online access to your giving circle fund through our online fund dashboard.
Authorizing online access to your giving circle fund
The fund advisor of your giving circle fund may authorize additional interested parties, such as co-chairs, executive committee participants or professional advisors (e.g., financial advisor) with read-only online access to information regarding your giving circle fund. This authorization can be made when the online application is completed or updated by the fund advisor once the giving circle fund is established. Financial professional(s) identified in the online application are provided with read-only online access to your giving circle fund activity (i.e., contact information, contributions and distributions). If you wish to authorize or restrict online access to your financial advisor and/or others, please
Giving circle fund disclosure
You can provide Thrivent with permission to publish your giving circle fund’s name in our publications (e.g., annual report, newsletters, social media and website) by checking the designated box in the online application. If no box is checked, we assume you do not wish for your giving circle fund to be listed publicly. You also have the option to have your giving circle fund’s name shared with charities when grant distributions are sent. If no box is checked in this section of the online application, your giving circle fund’s name will not be shared with benefiting charities, and grants from your giving circle fund will be anonymous. You may change your disclosure preferences at any time. To do so, please
Making gifts to your giving circle
Making gifts to create your giving circle fund
The minimum gift for giving circle funds is $200 per participant and a minimum of $1,000 for the giving circle fund. (For example, if each participant makes the minimum $200 gift, five participants are required.) Your giving circle may establish a higher minimum annual gift amount for participants if you choose. Participants may make multiple gifts to reach the minimum, providing each individual contribution is at least $200.
Participants of your giving circle may make contributions with any of the following: check, wire transfer, ACH bank transfer, credit card, stock/bonds and mutual funds, real estate, other real assets and/or closely held stock (the minimum for gifts of real estate or closely-held stock is $200,000). Giving circles are not eligible to receive qualified charitable distributions (QCDs) from an IRA.
When making gifts of cash to your giving circle fund, please make checks payable to Thrivent Charitable Impact & Investing. Names and contribution amounts of individual participants will be disclosed to the fund advisor, unless the donor requests to be anonymous.
Additional gifts
Participants are welcome to make additional gifts to your giving circle fund at any time. Please contact us if you have questions on how to make additional gifts or wish to consult with a gift planner.
Irrevocability
Charitable gifts cannot be revoked once the transfer of gift assets is complete.
Tax considerations
As Thrivent Charitable Impact & Investing is a public charity, gifts made to your giving circle fund are generally eligible for the maximum charitable tax deductions available under IRS regulations. Each charitable tax deduction is based on the type of gift asset and when the asset is given. Please note that for gifts of cash, donors may deduct up to 60% of their adjusted gross income (AGI) and any portion of their deduction that exceeds this threshold may be carried forward for five additional tax years. For gifts of long-term appreciated assets (assets owned for more than one year), such as stock, donors may deduct up to 30% of their adjusted gross income (AGI) and any portion of their deduction that exceeds this threshold may be carried forward for five additional tax years.
The information above pertains only to federal taxes, not taxes at the state level, which vary. In all cases, please consult with your tax advisor for charitable tax deduction information specific to your giving situation.
Gift acceptance and tax reciepts
In accordance with procedures adopted by our Board of Directors, a duly-authorized Thrivent officer or other designated staff person accepts your participant’s gifts on behalf of Thrivent. For gifts of $250 or more, participants are encouraged to retain a copy of their gift receipt for tax filing purposes.
Policy for selling capital assets
Contributions of non-cash assets, such as securities, real estate and other real assets are sold as soon as feasible. Net proceeds from the sale of these assets are directed to your giving circle fund and held in cash, money market or when appropriate (invested giving circles), invested according to our investment policy and the fund advisor’s recommended allocation.
Fundraising policy
We cannot accept checks from individual participants in response to fundraising events promoting giving circle funds (e.g., golf tournaments, banquets, silent auctions). The exception is when we have agreed to sponsor and run an event, and all conditions outlined by Thrivent have been met. Gifts received at a fundraising event for a specific giving circle fund should be made payable to the individual organizing the event, and are not eligible for a charitable tax deduction from Thrivent.
The minimum gift for giving circle funds is $200 per participant and a minimum of $1,000 for the giving circle fund. (For example, if each participant makes the minimum $200 gift, five participants are required.) Your giving circle may establish a higher minimum annual gift amount for participants if you choose. Participants may make multiple gifts to reach the minimum, providing each individual contribution is at least $200.
Participants of your giving circle may make contributions with any of the following: check, wire transfer, ACH bank transfer, credit card, stock/bonds and mutual funds, real estate, other real assets and/or closely held stock (the minimum for gifts of real estate or closely-held stock is $200,000). Giving circles are not eligible to receive qualified charitable distributions (QCDs) from an IRA.
When making gifts of cash to your giving circle fund, please make checks payable to Thrivent Charitable Impact & Investing. Names and contribution amounts of individual participants will be disclosed to the fund advisor, unless the donor requests to be anonymous.
Additional gifts
Participants are welcome to make additional gifts to your giving circle fund at any time. Please contact us if you have questions on how to make additional gifts or wish to consult with a gift planner.
Irrevocability
Charitable gifts cannot be revoked once the transfer of gift assets is complete.
Tax considerations
As Thrivent Charitable Impact & Investing is a public charity, gifts made to your giving circle fund are generally eligible for the maximum charitable tax deductions available under IRS regulations. Each charitable tax deduction is based on the type of gift asset and when the asset is given. Please note that for gifts of cash, donors may deduct up to 60% of their adjusted gross income (AGI) and any portion of their deduction that exceeds this threshold may be carried forward for five additional tax years. For gifts of long-term appreciated assets (assets owned for more than one year), such as stock, donors may deduct up to 30% of their adjusted gross income (AGI) and any portion of their deduction that exceeds this threshold may be carried forward for five additional tax years.
The information above pertains only to federal taxes, not taxes at the state level, which vary. In all cases, please consult with your tax advisor for charitable tax deduction information specific to your giving situation.
Gift acceptance and tax reciepts
In accordance with procedures adopted by our Board of Directors, a duly-authorized Thrivent officer or other designated staff person accepts your participant’s gifts on behalf of Thrivent. For gifts of $250 or more, participants are encouraged to retain a copy of their gift receipt for tax filing purposes.
Policy for selling capital assets
Contributions of non-cash assets, such as securities, real estate and other real assets are sold as soon as feasible. Net proceeds from the sale of these assets are directed to your giving circle fund and held in cash, money market or when appropriate (invested giving circles), invested according to our investment policy and the fund advisor’s recommended allocation.
Fundraising policy
We cannot accept checks from individual participants in response to fundraising events promoting giving circle funds (e.g., golf tournaments, banquets, silent auctions). The exception is when we have agreed to sponsor and run an event, and all conditions outlined by Thrivent have been met. Gifts received at a fundraising event for a specific giving circle fund should be made payable to the individual organizing the event, and are not eligible for a charitable tax deduction from Thrivent.
Grant distributions
Distribution of grant support
Grant distributions from your giving circle fund are sent directly to benefiting charities. We cannot provide grant distribution checks to the giving circle/fund advisor for personal delivery. You may designate grants for general operating support or specific projects. Grants provide general operating support unless otherwise noted by the fund advisor.
Making distributions
Your giving circle determines when the grant distributions are made as well as the criteria for grants. The fund advisor may recommend grant distributions at any time, provided they are in compliance with any parameters established for the giving circle fund, and after approval by appropriate decision making procedures for your giving circle.
Distribution policies
At the recommendation of the fund advisor, distributions from the giving circle fund can be made in amounts of $200 or more to charities selected by your giving circle.
Qualifying charities and grantmaking due diligence
We strive to ensure that grants from your giving circle fund achieve your giving intentions, and verifies the charitable status of all nonprofits receiving grants. Each grantee’s financial and program information is reviewed. While the vast majority of grants recommended by donors are honored, the following types of grant requests are not permissible:
please contact us .
Variance power
Thrivent Charitable Impact & Investing is governed by federal laws and regulations that require it retain “variance power.” This means that in accepting participant gifts, we must have the ability to re-direct charitable support under certain circumstances, including if a charity loses its nonprofit status, support to a charity becomes unnecessary, the charity becomes incapable of fulfilling its mission, or is otherwise inconsistent with the charitable purposes of Thrivent.
Grant distributions from your giving circle fund are sent directly to benefiting charities. We cannot provide grant distribution checks to the giving circle/fund advisor for personal delivery. You may designate grants for general operating support or specific projects. Grants provide general operating support unless otherwise noted by the fund advisor.
Making distributions
Your giving circle determines when the grant distributions are made as well as the criteria for grants. The fund advisor may recommend grant distributions at any time, provided they are in compliance with any parameters established for the giving circle fund, and after approval by appropriate decision making procedures for your giving circle.
Distribution policies
At the recommendation of the fund advisor, distributions from the giving circle fund can be made in amounts of $200 or more to charities selected by your giving circle.
Qualifying charities and grantmaking due diligence
We strive to ensure that grants from your giving circle fund achieve your giving intentions, and verifies the charitable status of all nonprofits receiving grants. Each grantee’s financial and program information is reviewed. While the vast majority of grants recommended by donors are honored, the following types of grant requests are not permissible:
- Grants that provide a more than incidental benefit to the participants or another third party. This includes: all or a portion of the cost to attend a charitable event, goods bought at charitable auctions, raffle tickets, grants to satisfy a financial obligation to any individual or entity, grants that fulfill fundraising pledges or other commitments, or that are directed to or for the benefit of specific individuals (e.g., school tuition, scholarships earmarked for individuals);
- Grants to organizations whose purpose or work is not solely charitable or when the grant will be used for a non-charitable purpose (e.g., cemeteries, VFW, fraternal societies);
- Grants to private non-operating foundations; and
- Grants to supporting organizations (501(c)(3)s identified in 509(a)(3)) that do not have an IRS determination letter stating they are “Type I” or “Type II”.
Variance power
Thrivent Charitable Impact & Investing is governed by federal laws and regulations that require it retain “variance power.” This means that in accepting participant gifts, we must have the ability to re-direct charitable support under certain circumstances, including if a charity loses its nonprofit status, support to a charity becomes unnecessary, the charity becomes incapable of fulfilling its mission, or is otherwise inconsistent with the charitable purposes of Thrivent.
Fees and expenses
Grant in full giving circles, administrative expenses
Giving circles established with the intention to select a charity or charities to receive a grant of the full balance each giving cycle, are assessed an upfront administrative fee of 1% on each gift made to the giving circle fund to cover program and administrative expenses. There are no on-going fees, or transaction fees for distributions from the giving circle fund. Fees are assessed on a per contribution basis and are subject to change.
Invest and grow giving circles, administrative expenses
There is no fee charged to establish your giving circle fund. Once gift assets are received to your giving circle fund, an annual fee equal to 1% of the giving circle fund’s assets is assessed on a quarterly basis to cover program and administrative expenses. A minimum $25 quarterly administrative fee is assessed on giving circle funds with assets below $10,000.
Giving circle fund assets in excess of $1,000,000 are assessed a reduced fee of 0.5%, and additional reductions occur with assets exceeding $5,000,000. Fees are assessed on a per fund basis and are subject to change. There may be additional fees for gifts of illiquid assets (e.g., real estate, closely held stock, life insurance).
Investment expenses
For giving circles that opt to invest their giving circle fund’s assets, Thrivent invests in a diversified portfolio of no-load, institutional class investments. Each investment has internal management fees and expenses that are assessed.
Giving circles established with the intention to select a charity or charities to receive a grant of the full balance each giving cycle, are assessed an upfront administrative fee of 1% on each gift made to the giving circle fund to cover program and administrative expenses. There are no on-going fees, or transaction fees for distributions from the giving circle fund. Fees are assessed on a per contribution basis and are subject to change.
Invest and grow giving circles, administrative expenses
There is no fee charged to establish your giving circle fund. Once gift assets are received to your giving circle fund, an annual fee equal to 1% of the giving circle fund’s assets is assessed on a quarterly basis to cover program and administrative expenses. A minimum $25 quarterly administrative fee is assessed on giving circle funds with assets below $10,000.
Giving circle fund assets in excess of $1,000,000 are assessed a reduced fee of 0.5%, and additional reductions occur with assets exceeding $5,000,000. Fees are assessed on a per fund basis and are subject to change. There may be additional fees for gifts of illiquid assets (e.g., real estate, closely held stock, life insurance).
Investment expenses
For giving circles that opt to invest their giving circle fund’s assets, Thrivent invests in a diversified portfolio of no-load, institutional class investments. Each investment has internal management fees and expenses that are assessed.
Investment of giving circle fund assets
Investments overview
All investments are reviewed for approval by our Board of Directors. Assets of your giving circle fund may be commingled with the assets of other charitable funds that we hold and administer.
Investing your giving circle fund's assets
Grant in full giving circles - Giving circles established with the intention to select a charity or charity to receive a grant of full balance each giving cycle (within a year), are not invested in stock/bond securities, but held in cash equivalents (money market).
Invest and grow giving circles - For giving circles that intend to hold assets for one to three years, giving circle fund assets are placed in a money market option to protect your gifts from market volatility. For giving circles that intend to hold some or all assets for longer than three years, the fund advisor may recommend the allocation for your giving circle fund’s investment as needed to meet your growth and grantmaking goals. Once assets are invested, changes in market value may cause the value of the underlying investments of your giving circle fund to be worth more or less than the value of the original contribution. All dividends and capital gains are reinvested.
The fund advisor may select one or more investment portfolios for your giving circle fund’s assets. A custom investment allocation may be created by selecting a combination of portfolios, based on the distribution needs and goals of your giving circle. If no custom investment allocation is checked in the online application, assets will be invested in the mission growth portfolio.
After your giving circle fund is established, the fund advisor may recommend changes to the investment selection or allocation by submitting a request online or by mail. The fund advisor may change your investment allocation quarterly.
Investment recommendations
Whenever possible, we follow the fund advisor’s investment preferences but as per IRS regulations, investment recommendations are advisory and we may follow or decline recommendations. Investments are administered in accordance with the financial policies of Thrivent and are subject to normal market and interest rate fluctuation risks. Any gain or loss generated by investments will be reflected accordingly in the giving circle fund’s value.
All investments are reviewed for approval by our Board of Directors. Assets of your giving circle fund may be commingled with the assets of other charitable funds that we hold and administer.
Investing your giving circle fund's assets
Grant in full giving circles - Giving circles established with the intention to select a charity or charity to receive a grant of full balance each giving cycle (within a year), are not invested in stock/bond securities, but held in cash equivalents (money market).
Invest and grow giving circles - For giving circles that intend to hold assets for one to three years, giving circle fund assets are placed in a money market option to protect your gifts from market volatility. For giving circles that intend to hold some or all assets for longer than three years, the fund advisor may recommend the allocation for your giving circle fund’s investment as needed to meet your growth and grantmaking goals. Once assets are invested, changes in market value may cause the value of the underlying investments of your giving circle fund to be worth more or less than the value of the original contribution. All dividends and capital gains are reinvested.
The fund advisor may select one or more investment portfolios for your giving circle fund’s assets. A custom investment allocation may be created by selecting a combination of portfolios, based on the distribution needs and goals of your giving circle. If no custom investment allocation is checked in the online application, assets will be invested in the mission growth portfolio.
After your giving circle fund is established, the fund advisor may recommend changes to the investment selection or allocation by submitting a request online or by mail. The fund advisor may change your investment allocation quarterly.
Investment recommendations
Whenever possible, we follow the fund advisor’s investment preferences but as per IRS regulations, investment recommendations are advisory and we may follow or decline recommendations. Investments are administered in accordance with the financial policies of Thrivent and are subject to normal market and interest rate fluctuation risks. Any gain or loss generated by investments will be reflected accordingly in the giving circle fund’s value.
Communications
We provide monthly statements to giving circles. These reports detail contributions, grants to charities, administrative fees and investment gains or losses. Statements for giving circle funds are provided online on the Fund Dashboard .
Resources to support your charitable goals
We are here to help your giving circle make informed and thoughtful giving decisions. Please contact us if we can serve you in any of the following ways:
Charity Navigator: Your Guide to Intelligent Giving (CharityNavigator.org)—Charity Navigator is America’s most prominent evaluator of charities. Their rating system examines two broad areas of a charity’s financial health—how responsibly it functions day to day as well as how well positioned it is to sustain its programs over time. Each charity is then awarded an overall rating, ranging from zero to four stars.
GuideStar (GuideStar.org)—with free registration you can view information on all 1.8 million nonprofits listed with GuideStar, and all are formally registered with the IRS or have proven they meet all IRS criteria for exempt organizations.
- Identify charities/nonprofit organizations that match your interests and values;
- Research causes or issues important to you;
- Link your giving with our initiatives, joining other participants to provide support to specific charitable concerns; and
- Assist you in making additional gifts to your giving circle fund.
Charity Navigator: Your Guide to Intelligent Giving (CharityNavigator.org)—Charity Navigator is America’s most prominent evaluator of charities. Their rating system examines two broad areas of a charity’s financial health—how responsibly it functions day to day as well as how well positioned it is to sustain its programs over time. Each charity is then awarded an overall rating, ranging from zero to four stars.
GuideStar (GuideStar.org)—with free registration you can view information on all 1.8 million nonprofits listed with GuideStar, and all are formally registered with the IRS or have proven they meet all IRS criteria for exempt organizations.
Donors/fund advisors are subject to the policies and guidelines outlined above. Thrivent reserves the right to modify these policies and guidelines at any time. Donors must itemize deductions to receive a charitable income tax deduction. Charitable giving can result in tax, legal and financial consequences. Thrivent Charitable Impact & Investing™ does not provide legal, accounting or tax advice. Consult your attorney or tax professional.