Mark Jinkins

Linda Laarman

Michael McCoy

Arvid Munson

For the latest news on charity in Door County, read our publications and previous issues of our Newsletter, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter.

The year is coming to an end - and your accountant is advising you that this would be a good year to earn a sizeable charitable deduction. But with the new year just around the corner and the holidays approaching, you don't have the time to deal with charitable giving.

 

The solution? Open a Donor Advised Fund at the Door County Community Foundation! With a gift today you'll earn a tax deduction in this tax year, then you can take as much time as you need to determine which charities will ultimately benefit from your generosity!

 

This is just one of the advantages of using a Donor Advised Fund to facilitate your giving. It's a simpler, cheaper, and more tax-efficient alternative to creating your own private foundation!

 

Here's how it works:

• Open your Donor Advised Fund at the Community Foundation with a gift of at least $1,000.
• You can give cash, appreciated stocks, real estate, or other assets.
• We set up a special Fund in your name, in the name of your family or business, or in honor of any person or organization you choose.
• Your gift to your Donor Advised Fund earns you a tax deduction in the year your gift is made.
• You can then support the causes and organizations you care about most with future distributions from your Donor Advised Fund.
• We handle all the administrative details and issue grants to charities in the name of your Donor Advised Fund (or if you prefer, grants can be made anonymously). 

If you choose, your gift can be placed into an endowment that is invested over time. Earnings from your Fund are used to make grants literally forever. Your gift - and all future earnings from your gift - can become a permanent source of community capital, forever giving back in your family's name. It's an incredible legacy for Door County!

 

Contact the Community Foundation , or speak your own tax professional to learn more about how a Donor Advised Fund can help you be generous in a very tax-efficient way.

 

The Community Foundation's Winter Sustainability Grant deadline is Thursday, January 2, 2014.

Sustainability Grants provide the critical operational support for the charities that sustain our quality of life in Door County. They help pay the salary of a case manager working with troubled teens,buy music stands for a local performing arts group, install piping to bring water to a community garden, and pay teachers to help with math and reading instruction during the summer.

Sustainability Grants are rarely glamorous and are usually not the big ideas that stir one's soul. But this operational support is essential to the programs that sustain the parts of Door County that we love - and alleviate the challenges faced by working families because of the seasonal nature of our economy. 

The Community Foundation offers Sustainability Grants because it has a fundamental belief that charities are essential part of our quality of life. Helping to support their operations is key to maintaining the parts of Door County that we love - and to alleviating the social issues arising from our unique seasonal economy.

Through the application for a Sustainability Grant, a non-profit organization might receive assistance from the Arts Fund, the Children & Youth Fund, the Education Fund, the Green Fund, the Health & Human Needs Fund, and/or the Historic Preservation Fund. 

For more information, or to informally discuss your ideas, call (920) 746-1786, or email Christine Henkel. You can also create a charitable fund in your estate plans to support the charities or causes you care about the most. Contact Bret Bicoy for more information.