Great Lakes Floral Foundation Funding Options & Definitions
Great Lakes Floral Foundation (GLFF) receives gift donations for different purposes. This document outlines and explains the options for gift donations and the required level of funding needed for each.
Individual Named Fund. Donors may establish an individual named fund with the following minimum gifts:
- $5000.00 – undesignated as to purpose
- $10,000.00 – designated for research or for a named scholarship
Designated funds may be commingled with GLFF’s Corpus for investment purposes, but are tracked in the financial records separately. The fund starts with the gift amount, additional gifts can be added to it over time, investment gains and losses are distributed to it pro-rata, as well as operating expenses, and distributions are subtracted. In this way, the fund can be reported on individually, with the fund balance at any point in time, as well as distributions that have been made as a direct result of this gift.
The donor(s) enters into a separate gift agreement that memorializes the gift, indicating the reason behind the gift; the use distributions are to be put to, the history of the donor, both in the industry and with GLFF, and how the fund will be administered.
Heritage Circle – Donors that make deferred (also referred to as legacy or estate) gifts qualify as members of GLFF’s Heritage Circle. GLFF currently has 0 Heritage Circle Members. There is no minimum gift size to be a member. Examples are:
- Bequests through a will or living trust
- Insurance – gift of policy or beneficiary designation
- Retirement assets – beneficiary designation
- Charitable remainder trust
- Retained life estate
Living Tributes – A donor can make a gift “in honor” of another, usually an individual. Example: Gift made in honor of Mr. G. Keith Crittenden, on the occasion of his birthday. This gift is made to recognize someone who is living. When a gift of $500.00 or more is made a name plaque will be purchased and placed on the GLFF “Wall of Honor” at the Great Lakes Floral Association headquarters.
Memorial Tributes – A donor can make a gift “in memory” of an individual. These gifts are usually made at the time of someone’s passing although can be made later as well. This gift is made to recognize someone who is deceased. When a gift of $500.00 or more is made a name plaque will be purchased and placed on the GLFF “Wall of Honor” at the Great Lakes Floral Association headquarters.
Corporate Tributes – With a minimum gift size of $500, a donor can make a gift “in honor” of a company or organization.
General Contributions and Recognition Levels – GLFF has the following categories to recognize cumulative giving:
$100,000 and above
$75,000 to $99,999
$50,000 to $74,999
$25,000 to $49,999
$20,000 to $24,999
$15,000 to $19,999
$5,000 to $9,999
$2,500 to $4,999
$1,000 to $2,499
$500 to $999
$100 to $499
Under $100
Explanation and Definition of Terms:
Undesignated Gifts – If the donor is silent as to the purpose or use of their gift, the default category is undesignated. Annual distributions from these gifts can be used at the discretion of the Trustees, for any expenditure by GLFF whether it is for research, education or operating expenses. The Trustees decide where the need is the greatest at the time of allocation. These gifts go into the general corpus of the Foundation.
Designated Gifts Designated for Scholarships – Distributions from these gifts may be used only for scholarships and/or internships. Aggregated gifts to scholarships are accounted for separately from the main corpus so that it can be determined what portion of the annual distributions from the Foundation must be directed to scholarships.
Designated Gifts Designated to Research – Distributions from these gifts may be used only for research purposes. As above, aggregated gifts to research are accounted for separately from the main corpus so that it can be easily determined what portion of the annual distributions from the Foundation must be directed to research.