How it works

The idea of a charitable
foundation is to set aside a tax
deductible corpus of money,
have it invested wisely and
make donations to eligible
charities each year.

Setting up a Giving Fund with Ethinvest’s Community Impact Foundation (CIF) allows you to focus on the organisations and causes you want to support, while the Trustee focuses on the administration and governance.

Every member (or donor) has their own Giving Fund with the CIF – with the minimum initial tax-deductible gift being $50,000. Your Giving Fund can be built up over time through additional donations (subject to a minimum of $5,000) and any accumulated investment returns. Family and friends can also make tax deductible donations to your Giving Fund.

Once your Giving Fund is established, funds are pooled with other Giving Funds to form a corpus. Income and capital gains/ losses on this corpus are distributed pro-rata to each Giving Fund. These returns may help increase your Giving Fund balance in time.

The administration, investment management and governance activities are all overseen by the Trustee of the Community Impact Foundation.

The CIF donates 4% (or more) of the closing fund value each financial year to charities (all of which must have tax deductible gift recipient status, DGR Item 1). Each Giving Fund is able to make recommendations to the Trustee about which charities should receive their share of the giving pool.

Giving Funds can be started by individuals, couples or families, and provisions can be made as to who will be responsible for looking after the Giving Fund beyond the lifetime of the original donors.

How it works

  1. Make your first tax-deductible gift to Ethinvest’s Community Impact Foundation (minimum $50,000) and name your Giving Fund
  2. Your gift is pooled and ethically invested, generating returns
  3. Add to your Fund over time (minimum $5,000 for additional donations)
  4. Request grants – simply tell the CIF team which charities you’d like to support via our online portal and we make grants for you and carry out all administration.
    Advice on effective giving is available through our dedicated philanthropy director.

You choose how your Fund operates

  • Income-only model: grant out the annual returns, leaving your capital intact
  • Spend-down model: plan to distribute the entire Fund over a set period (i.e. 10 years).

Impact and accountability

  • Since 2014, CIF members have directed millions of dollars each year to more than 350 charities, spanning environmental, climate-action, human-rights, women’s and faith-based causes.
  • Our Trustees seek out truly impactful investments so that every dollar – whether principal or return – is working for people and the planet.

Low fees, high support

  • The CIF’s management fee of 1.025% pa (including GST) is among the lowest for public ancillary funds in Australia
  • You receive dedicated gifting-support services from grant administration to reporting, including access to our expert philanthropy director
  • All administration, investment management and governance is handled by our experienced Trustee, so you can focus on the causes that matter to you
  • Because your donations earn returns, total giving often far exceeds the original gift.

If you’d like to make your giving more effective – both today and for years to come – consider establishing a Community Impact Foundation Giving Fund. It’s a simple, transparent way to ensure your generosity leaves a lasting legacy.

Sally’s Story