By Jeff Baldus

Austin Area Foundation director

Your Austin Area Foundation builds charitable funds that support community needs and opportunities. The funds, mostly permanent endowments, ensure there is support for good, forever, for our city.

Your Austin Area Foundation was created by and for the people who live here as a tax-exempt public charity with IRS 501(c)(3) status. We work with you to help you fulfill your charitable interests and goals—easily and effectively.

We realize that your gifts are more than money. They are the hopes and dreams of those who care about our communities. They are given to make an impact. Grants from the funds affect people who live here through the work of local not-for-profit agencies, community organizations, and committed citizens.

Your Austin Area Foundation plays a key role in addressing community needs and opportunities — now and in the future—to help make giving as effective as possible.

We provide tools and resources which help individuals, families, businesses, and nonprofit agencies achieve their charitable and financial goals.

We help donors create charitable funds to support the issues and groups they care about most.

We provide an attractive alternative to starting a private foundation, by handling all record keeping, reporting to the IRS, accounting, and investment management.

We build endowments to ensure that funds are always available to support your community.

We allow donors to benefit from the highest available tax deductions for charitable contributions.

We are governed by leaders with strong ties to our community. (19 member Board of Directors)

We serve as community catalysts, convening diverse voices and groups to work on solutions to local issues.

We ensure that future generations learn the value of giving back by enabling an individual or family to establish a named fund creating a family legacy.

We pool the assets of individual funds, giving us economies of scale to work with top investment managers.

For more information about giving opportunities, please contact Jeff Baldus, 507-434-7494 or jeff@austinareafoundation.org.