Founders

Delaware Community Foundation Pledge Policy

The DCF will accept pledges to its funds, in order to facilitate larger gifts from donors. The following policy describes the conditions under which the DCF accepts pledges and manages those promises in its financials.

Acceptance: A pledged contribution shall be accepted and recorded by the DCF, provided it meets the following criteria:

• The total pledge must be at least $500.
• The pledge must be documented on a DCF pledge form or described fully in a letter of intent acceptable to the DCF and signed and dated by the donor. The FFW Founder Form is acceptable documentation.
• The payment installment schedule must be annual and should not exceed a period of five (5) years from the date of signature. The DCF may consider a schedule of up to 10 years for pledges in excess of $1,000,000.
• The donor should intend the pledge to be a binding commitment.

Recording : All accepted pledges will be recorded in the DCF’s financials as a receivable according to the documented payment schedule.

Payments : Pledge payments must be made directly to Fund for Women or DCF by cash or public securities. Pledges may not be fulfilled by grants from a donor-advised fund.

Payments on a pledge may be made at any time and may be made ahead of schedule. Payments made early will be counted toward the next scheduled installment.

Reminders: The DCF will send notices to donors at least annually, regarding the amount due on recorded pledges. These reminders will include the amount due toward the current year’s installment and any additional past-due amounts.

Write-offs: Unpaid pledge balances will be written off in the DCF’s financials two years after the scheduled due date of the last unfulfilled payment. Fund for Women Founders/Young Founders who lapse after that time will be marked as "Friend".

Extensions: In order to help enable a donor to fulfill their pledge obligation, the DCF may consider an extension to the payment schedule for outstanding balances of at least $50,000, if requested by the donor.