For Central Pa. financial advisors, TFEC is a resource and partner

For over 100 years, The Foundation for Enhancing Communities (TFEC) has helped central Pennsylvania donors invest in their communities to create lasting legacies. 

For financial advisors whose clients are looking to establish or grow their philanthropic goals, TFEC serves as a resource and partner. 

“We work with individuals to help create their charitable fund here at TFEC,” said Jennifer Doyle, TFEC President and Chief Executive Officer. “For example, if someone is supporting nonprofits that they love out of their checkbooks, and they are interested in establishing a fund here, they can accomplish that same charitable giving through a fund here at TFEC. However, what we do because we are built on endowments with perpetual community support, that fund they establish here becomes invested and it grows their money so that their charitable dollars stretch further into the community. 

“On the other side of that coin is to invest in our communities for today and for future generations. Community foundations are built on endowments. So, we’re built on perpetual community support. If someone contributes $10,000 today into their endowment fund, in a hundred years we have to make sure there is at least that same original $10,000 available for them to do their charitable giving from in the future.” 

TFEC was established in 1920 as The Greater Harrisburg Foundation by Donald McCormick who, according to the company site, looked to establish an organization to support community members seeking to create an impact that would be long-lasting and meaningful. For the benefit of local nonprofits and the furtherment of its goals within the community, TFEC handles donated assets and the creation of permanent funds, investment, and grantmaking. 

“We are here to customize a charitable giving plan on behalf of people who would like to establish their charitable fund here. Those funds range from scholarship funds to funds that support any nonprofit, not just here in our local communities but wherever that donor is invested in supporting the community. 

“There are folks who know the community needs change. So, what the needs are today may not be what the needs are 100 years from now. The type of fund they may be interested in is called an unrestricted fund, where today it may be used to support animal welfare and 100 years from now it may be used to support domestic violence.” 

In 2024, over $9 million in grants was awarded by TFEC to nonprofits in Adams, Cumberland, Franklin, Lebanon, Perry, and York counties. TFEC connect donors to nonprofits, helping to invest in perpetuity and create a legacy. 

“As the community’s needs change, so, too, does the opportunity for that funding to evolve because it’s unrestricted in nature. Folks who are extremely passionate about one specific area of community support, they can set up their own personal charitable fund. They can designate an area, and we can then make sure that money gets deployed in that space specifically. 

“We are so extremely flexible. Anybody with any charitable goal, that goal can be met and exceeded here through a charitable fund establishment. They get maximum tax advantage to the fullest extent allowable by law. We make sure that we look at what their personal situation is. Are they interested in giving now, while they’re living, or are they interested in establishing a charitable legacy upon their passing? 

“We have a lot of folks who do both. They’ll set up a charitable fund that they utilize during their life, and then also it becomes the beneficiary as part of their estate, therefore becoming part of their legacy,” added Doyle. 

Doyle said that listening to donors helps TFEC think about the donor’s needs and goals and determine how to help them plan for their legacy in the future. She said donors have many choices in where to leave their legacy, and TFEC feels fortunate that donors trust them to help carry out their goals. 

“The one type of fund that we have that is extremely flexible is set up in a way that the fundholder picks and chooses who, meaning what nonprofit, they want to support, when they want to support it, in what dollar amount they want to support it, and how often,” said Doyle. “It’s as if they were opening their checkbook and writing five checks. They can make those same five grants from their fund here, but now because those funds have been invested, they’re able to give more in terms of community support.” 

TFEC’s customized giving options range from personal fund establishment or a charitable gift to support a cause that they are passionate about, such as animal welfare, early education, environmental stewardship, etc. 

“If someone is passionate about animal welfare, for example, and they live here locally, they might not know who are the nonprofits doing that work, so it’s our responsibility to be able to inform their philanthropy if that’s something they’re interested in,” Doyle said. “A lot of folks come to the table, and they already know what they want to support, what specific nonprofit they want support. But some might not know that, and they look to us for that guidance.” 

Doyle said that when someone makes a charitable contribution, it’s TFEC’s goal for that initial amount to still be generating income for the community far into the future. TFEC invests so that that the contribution generates additional funding, and grants can benefit the community in perpetuity. 

“A lot of our initial meetings with donors is to hear what they’re passionate about,” said Doyle. “Then we build and tailor a charitable fund option that’s going to meet their charitable goals but also meet their personal financial situation. 

“We work with individuals to exceed and maximize their personal charitable goals in the community, whatever those goals are.”