How OCCF Works with Nonprofits

The Orange County Community Foundation’s mission is to encourage, support and facilitate philanthropy in Orange County. One of our most important strategic priorities is strengthening the capacity of Orange County’s nonprofit sector. The resources we offer include:

1) Granting

Last year, OCCF granted a total of $20.4 million in collaboration with its donors and community partners. Over our 20-year history, our cumulative granting to nonprofits totals $155 million, representing grants from both donor-advised funds and OCCF grant programs.

Donor-Advised Funds: The majority of giving from OCCF is funded by donors making recommendations for grant distributions from their donor-advised funds. Our staff works with donors to identify agencies that best match their philanthropic goals.

OCCF Grant Programs: Through income earned from our unrestricted and field-of-interest endowed funds, this past year the Orange County Community Foundation made more than 100 grant awards to nonprofit organizations through 14 grant programs in areas including Arts and Culture, Education, Health, Human Services and the Environment.

2) Training and Technical Assistance

OCCF underwrites, supports and provides training to bolster the effectiveness of our local nonprofits. Current programs include: 

Legacy Partners: This program is aimed at helping nonprofit organizations build their endowment and planned giving programs.

Nonprofit Sustainability Program: This program is designed to support local nonprofit organizations as they begin the process of building their planned giving strategy.

3) Gift Planning Support

The staff of the Community Foundation is happy to assist nonprofit organizations in facilitating gift plans to benefit their organization in a variety of ways. For example, we partner with local nonprofits to create a simple way for their donors to leave a charitable legacy through vehicles such as Charitable Remainder Trusts and Charitable Gift Annuities that will benefit their organization. The Community Foundation can also accept and facilitate the gifting of a wide range of assets including real estate, closely-held business interests and other appreciated assets on behalf of local nonprofits.