Keep wealth here at home!
You make a difference locally when your gift through the Four Way Community Foundation stays right here in greater Josephine County.
The Four Way Community Foundation accepts gifts of cash, appreciated stock, or with prior board approval, real estate.
The Four Way Community Foundation takes great care in stewarding your gift over time, and in keeping the operating costs of the foundation streamlined. Our twelve volunteer board members know our community; it’s their home, too!
The collective assets of the Four Way Community Foundation are professionally invested with an eye towards minimizing risk while maximizing long-term growth. We are happy to discuss our investment strategy and our fund growth history.
Give today
Donations of any size help our community thrive. Checks may be sent to:
Four Way Community Foundation
P.O. Box 652
Grants Pass, Oregon 97528
Please specify if you would like your donation to be added to the grantmaking fund or be directed to the Taylor Reedy Leadership Fund to support the operations of the Foundation.
Establish a fund
Your gift can be specifically crafted to your preferences. For this reason, it’s best to contact us and discuss your giving priorities and the types of funds that could be your best fit. All donor conversations are strictly confidential. We would enjoy meeting with you, and we’d be happy to meet with your estate attorney or financial advisor, as well.
Select a beneficiary:
Any nonprofit organization that does not discriminate against protected classes may be funded through a gift to Four Way, including the Foundation itself. Larger bequests may benefit several organizations simultaneously. A field of interest fund benefits a type of charitable work rather than a specific group.
Build your legacy fund as a pledge over several years, in a lump sum, or in a will or trust.
Planned giving
Leave a legacy through Four Way in your estate instrument. We can provide sample language to discuss with your estate attorney. Your gift can give back to our community in perpetuity.
It’s easy to set up, and can be crafted to your particular wishes.
Consider if you’d like your fund to be permanently endowed or defrayable over time. Endowed funds are like a battery: they provide small amounts of dollar power every year (usually about 5%). They do not grow because their interest income is distributed to the beneficiary, but they continue to generate income permanently. Defrayable funds allow a beneficiary organization to count on significant annual revenue without holding those funds on their own books.
“In the name of my beloved wife, Fay, I established a fund to benefit students in need at Highland Elementary School. Caring for children there was one of her greatest passions.
The Four Way Community Foundation makes it easy to provide for local youth.”
The Rose Douglas Trust, established 2011
Rose adored her funny and charismatic son, Gary, and was frustrated that because he had Down syndrome he could not even attend the schools where she taught (pre-ADA). Rose helped establish Southern Oregon Aspire so that people like Gary would have homes and meaningful jobs. In her will, Rose left her savings in the care of the Four Way Community Foundation to be invested, so that the proceeds could fund services to the intellectually and developmentally disabled in Josephine County in perpetuity. Ever since, the board and staff of the Four Way Community Foundation have sought out opportunities for people like Gary, helped nonprofits develop those services, and funded them through annual grants in Rose’s name. Because of her generous vision, Josephine County residents with ID/DD have a rainbow of options to enrich their lives, including Greenleaf Industries, Crossing Bridges Therapeutic Riding Center, Rogue River Institute, Healing Hearts and Hooves, and more. After twelve years of giving, Rose’s endowment still contains the original million dollars she contributed, and has given over $580,000 in grants. That’s the power of endowed funds over time!
Our Investments
The Foundation’s funds are managed professionally by Ferguson Wellman Capital Management in a diversified portfolio, balancing growth with long-term security. All donations are considered endowment contributions and are invested unless received with specific instructions to the contrary. The investment and administrative costs are less than 2 percent of the total endowment annually.
