A great way to give…

The Foundation offers a flexible and effective way for you to easily accomplish many of your charitable objectives. The BSA Donor Advised Fund permits donors to make an irrevocable gift to further the mission of the BSA and, potentially, other qualified charities. Advised funds in the BSA Foundation are essentially the same as advised funds offered by community foundations, commercial common funds (such as Fidelity and Vanguard), and others — except our donors are assured that Scouting will always be a primary beneficiary of their philanthropy.

Donor Advised Funds Prospectus

The BSA Donor Advised Fund Prospectus  gives detailed information regarding:

  • Establishing a Donor Advised Fund
  • Minimal Gifts and Distributions
  • Advisory Periods
  • Grant Recipients
  • Administration and Final Distributions
BSA Donor Advised Fund Prospectus
A Donor's Perspective | The Innovation Fund

A Donor’s Perspective…The Innovation FundLoPrestiMichael_0315_3110_crop

“Our Scouts face insurmountable opportunities,” Mike says with a grin. “And we are inspiring our future innovators by exposing them to thousands of career opportunities, both college bound and career bound.”

Mike LoPresti and his wife, Bonnie, provided the lead gift to create the Innovation Fund at the BSA Foundation. The goal: to provide Scouts with experiential learning resources to use STEM in their lives and careers.

The Innovation Fund is the engine to develop, secure, and coordinate the resources and relationships for Scouting to remain a relevant platform for positive youth development. Science, engineering, and technology occupations are crucial for future economic competitiveness in our globalized world. Even industries not traditionally classified as STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) are now dominated by the software and other mathematical models that facilitate them. Mike knows, “it is crucial for the future that our labor force has sufficient exposure to, and training in, STEM skill sets.”

In true Scouting tradition, the Innovation Fund not only improves STEM literacy and teaches life skills, but also develops positive qualities of character, citizenship, leadership, and fitness in young people.  Mike has combined his thirty-eight year history in Scouting with his life-long passion for innovation and his belief that STEM holds the key to relevance and impact for the Scouting movement.

Mike’s work through the fund has engaged companies around Chicago and the United States that have a vested interest in training the next generation of employees. Abbott Labs is one of the private companies partnering with the Innovation Fund and has a 20 year history of supporting Scouting inside its laboratories.  Abbott uses Scouting as a feeder system for new talent, invests significant staff and financial resources, and has hired many former participating Scouts.

Additional Information

An advised Fund normally requires three documents: 1) the Fund Agreement; 2) Schedule A, specifically identifying the gift assets contributed for the advised Fund; and 3) Schedule B, which discusses the details of the Fund distributions and advisory power of the donor. Samples of these documents and additional information can be obtained from the Foundation by emailing patty.bowman@scouting.org or calling 972-580-2219.