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You can live forever by leaving a legacy at the Community Foundation.  Supporting the community through your will or beneficiary designations is an easy way to have your name, interests, or values live on forever.  You can create or add to a fund by bequest or through a planned gift and know that its purpose will continue in perpetuity. 

You care deeply about this community – whether you choose to define it by geography, ethnicity, age, interest, or any number of other factors – and want to continue supporting it beyond your lifetime.  Creating a fund at the Community Foundation can benefit your favorite charities, causes, or communities now and forever.  You may determine the criteria for support and know that your intent will be maintained.

Looking for a way to encourage family members to be engaged in philanthropy? Establish a Donor Advised Fund and name family members as current or successor advisors, giving your family gatherings or reunions new meaning!  The Community Foundation has several examples of families effectively engaging siblings and children in giving and is eager to share those ideas with you.  You may also check out Learning to Give or National Center for Family Philanthropy.

If you’re interested in establishing a memorial fund or making a gift to remember or honor a loved one, you’ve come to the right place. With our help you can establish a permanent, named fund to provide grants to charitable organizations or scholarships to students in your loved one’s name or you want to give a one-time grant or scholarship in honor or memory of a special person, or you’d rather add a contribution to an existing permanent endowment fund at the Community Foundation and have your loved ones’ names forever remembered that way.  The first step is to talk with us.  We know this may be a difficult time for you, but we encourage you to help us understand your hopes and dreams so that we can recommend a direction that will reflect them.

Estate planning identifies significant taxes going to the IRS, but you want to direct dollars for local benefit. The Community Foundation can work with you to reduce your taxable estate through a charitable bequest or other planned gift. Your gift will create a legacy of caring in the community that stays true to your intent forever.

You have always been charitable, but are concerned about running out of money during your lifetime. Consider establishing a life income gift (such as a charitable gift annuity) at the Community Foundation that pays you income for life. Upon your death, the gift can be distributed by the Community Foundation in accordance with your charitable interests.

You are thinking about establishing a private foundation, but are looking for a simpler, more cost-efficient alternative. The Community Foundation can help you analyze the pros and cons of creating a Donor Advised Fund, a supporting organization or a private foundation. See Community Foundation Alternatives to a Private Foundation for more information.

You have appreciated stock and want to use a portion of the gains for charitable giving, but the identified charities are too small to accept direct stock gifts. Consider establishing a Charitable Checking Account ^SM at the Community Foundation with a gift of appreciated stock. You receive a tax deduction on the full market value while avoiding the capital gains tax that would otherwise arise from sale of the stock. You can even be involved in recommending uses for the gift, including the organizations and programs you care about most.  Or, your personal net worth is primarily tied up in a closely held company, but it's important for you to give back to the community. Consider establishing a Donor Advised Fund or planned gift; which will make you eligible for a tax deduction measured by the fair market value of appreciated stock (less any planned gift value).

You’ve just earned a large bonus and want to give a portion back to the community but have no time to decide on the most deserving charities. Consider establishing a Donor Advised Fund through the Community Foundation for an immediate tax deduction, which gives you the ability to be involved in recommending uses for the gift for years to come.

You are passionate about helping to address a specific community issue and want to make a meaningful gift. You can work with our grantmaking experts to understand community needs and programs and then direct gift dollars to make the greatest impact.

You own highly appreciated stock in a company that is about to be acquired. The Community Foundation can work with you to suggest several ways to structure a charitable gift (including the use of planned giving techniques) to help you reduce capital gains tax and to maximize the impact to the community, program or organization of your choice.

You have substantial assets in retirement accounts and want to leave your estate to community and family. The Community Foundation can help you evaluate the most beneficial asset distribution to minimize taxes, giving more to your heirs and preserving your charitable intent.  For more information, contact the Community Foundation.

Cash and other assets, such as securities and real estate, may be used to start a fund now.  The minimum amount to establish a permanent fund is $25,000.  An “Acorn” fund may be established with $2,500, with the understanding that it will grow to $25,000 over a 10-year period.

“Planned Giving" refers to charitable gifts that require some planning before they are made. Planned gifts are popular because they can provide valuable tax benefits and/or income for life.

The simplest form of planned giving is a bequest to the Community Foundation, in which you may leave assets to the Community Foundation in your will.  The bequest may establish a new fund or contribute to an existing fund.  Charitable Gift Annuity, Pooled Life Income Fund, Charitable Remainder Trust and Retained Life Estate are other forms of planned giving.

Endowment Funds provide ongoing support to the community. Grants are made only from income generated by your fund and not from principal, so your gift continues to help our community forever.

Our Charitable Checking Account offers you control over individual contributions. You may make a tax-deductible gift of cash or appreciated stock to establish an account, then use our online “Donor Central” service to send checks to your favorite non-profits. 

Our Charitable Investor Fund is a Donor Advised Fund that allows you to determine your investment mix and also to make gifts up to the complete amount of your fund balance.

You fund may be established to direct grants to one or more of your favorite charities, or you may choose to support a field of interest, such as Aging, Education, Arts & Culture or others.  As the catalysts for change in the community, the Community Foundation monitors needs in the community and provides grants to help.  For this reason, many philanthropists choose to create a fund to support the community in general.

The Community Foundation will accept gifts of publicly traded stocks and bonds at fair market values as determined under Internal Revenue Service rules.  As a general rule, gifts of publicly traded securities will be sold as soon as possible and the fund established will be credited with the proceeds from the sale after commissions and expenses, if any.  

Proposed gifts of real estate must be reviewed by the President and approved by the Board of Directors of the Community Foundation and must satisfy the requirements of the Community Foundation’s separate Policy and Guidelines Relating to Gifts of Real Estate.  Gifts of real estate must have a market value of at least $50,000 and most properties require an environmental review.  

Proposed gifts of closely held stock, limited liability companies and partnership interests must be reviewed and approved by the president of the Foundation and must satisfy the requirements of the Community Foundation’s separate Policies and Guidelines Relating to Gifts of Partnership Interests and Gifts of Closely Held Stock. 

The Community Foundation may accept gifts of existing or new insurance. Prior to accepting a policy, the Community Foundation and donor must agree that the plan as presented fits the needs of both parties.   

Gifts of mortgages, promissory notes and similar installment obligations will be accepted only in exceptional circumstances.

Tangible Personal property may be accepted as a gift with certain caveats: the property must be saleable; the donor must agree that the property can be sold (unless the Community Foundation agrees to use the property for a purpose related to its exempt purposes, which is usually unlikely); and the donor must obtain a qualified appraisal of the property complying with IRS regulations. Most gifts of personal property are deductible only at cost basis.

A “bargain sale” is a sale of property to the Community Foundation for an amount less than the property’s current fair market value. The excess of the value over the sales price represents a contribution. The Community Foundation, upon approval of its President and legal counsel, may purchase property on a bargain sale basis. The amount of the allowable deduction for a bargain sale will be subject to the rules of the Internal Revenue Service relating to bargain sales.