To Benefit People with Disabilities

Planning for a Financially Secure Future
Life doesn't come with guarantees: Especially for people with disabilities. As the parent or caregiver of a person with disabilities, you know the future presents some very significant challenges, both personal and financial.

The Community Trust was created to provide parents with a way to secure and protect the financial future of your child or family member with developmental disabilities. This Pooled Trust Program gives you a way to provide supplemental money for a person with disabilities....
— while it protects him or her from losing important government benefits.
What is the “Community Trust?”
Often referred to as a “pooled trust,” this is a special trust that we at the Community Foundation have created to serve families. Instead of setting up an individual trust account, these types of trusts allow families to pool their resources with other families. This pooled account is managed and invested as one pooled account for greater efficiency.

This reduces administrative fees as there is only one account and increases the total amount of principal for investments. Beneficiaries of this trust receive earnings based on their share of the principal.

The Community Trust is helpful to parents with smaller estates and parents who have difficulty finding an appropriate trustee. We are working in cooperation with local Arc’s and other agencies that serve people with disabilities, so there is assurance of an informed, sensitive trustee who knows about the care and support of individuals with disabilities.


How Does A Pooled Trust Work?
In the Pooled Trust Program, families set up individual accounts that are then “pooled” together into one large trust. This Pooled Trust is managed and invested as one account. One benefit to each family in the Pooled Trust is that pooling reduces administrative fees and increases the principal available for investment purposes. Pooling also allows access to better quality investments that pay a higher rate of return than what is usually available for a small individual trust. In addition, the Pooled Trust Program takes care of the daily management of all the individual accounts, including maintaining records, reporting taxes and handling requests for and expediting disbursements. The fee for these expert services is minimal as compared to those that a bank or trust company charges to manage an individual trust.

Another benefit of the Pooled Trust Program is that there are not any start-up fees to become involved in the program and you don't need a minimum of $200,000 to $400,000 as required for most single trust funds. Parents who can't afford to fund a large trust are able to set up an adequate account in the Pooled Trust Program.

Most important of all, the Pooled Trust helps cover those supplemental needs that add significantly to an individual's quality of life. The Pooled Trust can be set up to pay for all the “extras” that parents took care of during their lifetime.

  • A Pooled Trust is a way for people without large estates to set up a fund for their loved one.
  • With a Pooled Trust, assets don't have to be spent down to protect SSI or Medicaid.
  • The funds in an individual's account are used only for that individual during his/her lifetime.
  • Trusts that cover supplemental needs add significantly to an individual's quality of life.
  • A Pooled Trust can be set up with minimal funds.
  • Trust earnings are divided among accounts according to the shares in the pooled account.
  • Any remaining funds remain in the trust and can be used to assist other members of the trust.
  • Pooled Trusts can be set up and managed only by a qualified non-profit organization.

For more information, call 724-981-5882 and ask to speak with Larry Haynes , Executive Director.

Note: This is only a general overview of one part of future planning. Families should work with a knowledgeable attorney or financial planner to explore other options of planning prior to making legally binding decisions.