Appleton professional advisor Paul Bonikowske has encouraged his clients to explore charitable giving options and create funds within the Community Foundation.

The Community Foundation has enjoyed longtime partnerships with legal and financial advisors across the Fox Valley. This year we launched new online resources to help professional advisors tailor a gift or a charitable fund to their clients’ unique interest and goals.

Paul and Jenny Bonikowske

“Knowing what people’s goals are is key, and the Community Foundation is a great resource,” says Paul Bonikowske, Northwestern Mutual CFP®/Wealth Management Advisor.

When we launched our Professional Advisors toolkit, Bonikowske was the first advisor to try out the Start A Fund online tool, which allows the Community Foundation to expedite the process to draft a Fund Agreement. A new fund can be established in about a day.

Just before Christmas 2019, Bonikowske and his wife donated a mutual fund that had appreciated to create the Paul and Jenny Bonikowske Charitable Fund, a donor advised fund that will enable the family to support multiple organizations in the Fox Valley. Paul and Jenny like to sit with their daughters Megan and Rachel, ages 21 and 17, to plan out which charities are important to them. This year the Bonikowskes selected their church, American Red Cross, United Way Fox Cities, Boys and Girls Clubs of the Fox Cities, Alzheimer’s Association and LEAVEN.

“We’ve been very blessed and our fund allows us to give to charity on an ongoing basis. It’s a win-win for local nonprofits, with tax benefits as well for us,” Bonikowske says. “The staff at the Community Foundation made it an incredibly easy process.”

Interested in exploring a family fund? We have a variety of flexible fund options. Check them out here.