Inspiring People to Give Back to Sustain and Advance the Community We Love

Door County Community Foundation
December 2015
   

The fastest growing vehicle for philanthropic giving just revved its engine and experienced one of its best years ever, according to the 2015 Donor Advised Fund Report, an annual study of how Americans use this unique giving tool. In 2014, a year when the U.S. economy as a whole grew by a modest 2.4 percent, the total assets in Donor Advised Funds increased by a staggering 24 percent to nearly $70 billion. Incredibly, last year about 1 out of every 12 dollars donated by an individual to charity went into a Donor Advised Fund.
 
Donor Advised Funds really took off as a tool for giving during the tech boom of the 1990s. A headline in the New York Times of nearly 20 years ago summed up the role of Donor Advised Funds quite succinctly with, "These Foundations Let Every Family Play Ford." (Dec. 9, 1997).
 
Immediate Deduction, Deferred Distributions. You can establish a Donor Advised Fund in your name, your company's name, or that of a loved one, such as the "John and Jane Smith Charitable Fund." You then make a contribution into your newly created Fund and claim a tax deduction in the year your charitable gift was made. However, the distributions you make from your fund, commonly referred to as "grants," can occur to virtually any charity you choose, anywhere in the country, on any timeline that works best for you. This makes a Donor Advised Fund an invaluable tax-planning tool.
 
 
As we used to say this time of year in my birthplace of Hawaii, "Mele Kalikimaka me ka Hau'oli Makahiki Hou!"
Bret N. Bicoy
President & CEO
Door County Community Foundation
Grants Awarded to Big Brothers/Big Sisters & Southern Door

The Door County Community Foundation awarded Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northeastern Wisconsin a Sustainability Grant from the Children & Youth Fund. This grant provides financial assistance to support the development of new One-to-One Youth Mentoring programs at Gibraltar and Washington Island as well as enhance the existing program in Sturgeon Bay.

"This youth mentoring program is based on a successful model with proven results. The evidence is well documented that these one-to-one relationships cultivate experiences for Door County youth that changes their lives for the better," said Dick Hauser, Treasurer and board member of the Door County Community Foundation.

Learn More about the grant to Big Brothers/Big Sisters...

The Community Foundation also awarded the Southern Door School District a Sustainability Grant from the Education Fund. This grant provides financial support for the SHIELD program, a district-wide educational program that stands for Students Helping, Involving, Educating, Leading & Deterring.

"This initiative is unique in its ability to serve Door County students because it is a peer-led program. These student leaders have first-hand knowledge of challenging issues experienced in the schools and, with the help of the SHIELD program, are developing the skills to help themselves and others navigate these situations in a healthy way," said Polly Alberts, Vice Chair of the Door County Community Foundation.

Learn More about the grant to Southern Door Schools...

These are just a few of the grants awarded by the Family of Funds at the Door County Community Foundation. The Community Foundation has several granting programs that offer financial awards to charity from funds such as the Arts Fund, Children & Youth Fund, Green Fund, Health & Human Needs Fund, Education Fund, Historic Preservation Fund, Healthy Water Fund, and the Women's Fund.
 
For more information about the Community Foundation's services and various grant programs, please visit www.GiveDoorCounty.org or contact us. 
Give Door County: The Blog!


We've recently launched a new blog to bring you the latest activities of the funds of the Door County Community Foundation and news about charity in on our peninsula. Whether it be a grant to an innovative new program, information about funding opportunities, or ways to use the most tax-efficient giving tools, we'll be posting it on Give Door County: The Blog!
This Christmas, Give the Book that Gives to Charity

"This book is all about the beauty and unexpected treasures of Sturgeon Bay, an historic and vital part of Door County. Those who have spent any amount of time here in the Door understand how special this part of the world can be. And one of the ways we can all maintain the magic of this unique destination is to contribute our time and resources to keep Door County special."
 
So begins the introduction to a beautiful book celebrating the Secret Treasures of Door County. This first of what we hope will be a series of books is focused on Sturgeon Bay. From bed and breakfasts, to the arts, to remarkable scenery, author and photographer Tom Jordan has captured the beauty and wonder of Sturgeon Bay. 
 
Jordan's 191 page book covers Sturgeon Bay's rich maritime and shipbuilding history, music, theater, artisans, agriculture, fishing, shops, and perhaps most importantly, the people behind the pictures. He is an international award-winning advertising writer and former Chairman and Chief Creative Officer of Hoffman York Advertising. This book is a labor of love as Jordan is donating 100% of the profits to the Community Foundation to be granted out to the charities of Door County. 

Secret Treasures of Door County is available at several locations in Door County and can be purchased online. Visit the Community Foundation's website for more information.
List Your Scholarship on the Scholarship Network

The Door County Scholarship Network is now updating its online searchable database for the 2016 scholarship season. 


If you are a scholarship program that provides scholarships to students from any Door County high school, please download and complete the Scholarship Listing Form so we can list your scholarship program in our online database.

There is absolutely no cost for a scholarship program to be listed on this website. In addition, each individual scholarship program will continue to control its own assets, make its own decisions, and award scholarships in their own name. The Scholarship Network's searchable online database is designed to simplify the search process for the students.

Learn more about listing your scholarship on the Scholarship Network...
Endowments in Action: Hardy Gallery

The Community Foundation is honored to administer the Francis Hardy Center for the Arts Fund.

Established in 1962 in honor of Francis Howe Hardy, Ephraim's historic Hardy Gallery is solely dedicated to supporting Door County's extensive and vibrant visual art community.
Although a businessman by trade, Francis Hardy was an artist of recognized ability and was a tireless advocate of Door County artists. Francis envisioned the existence of a gallery that would support the development of a growing Door County art community, fostering its growth, and furthering the understanding and appreciation of the visual arts and most importantly, the artists of the Door Peninsula. Upon his passing in 1960, Hardy's vision became a reality thanks to his wife Helen's energy and financial contributions.
 
Today, the Hardy Gallery, as it is still affectionately known, has programs and initiatives that address the needs of the local artist community, creative enrichment of local youth, and is focused more than ever on Hardy's original vision of educating the public and promoting the visual arts and artists of the Door County Peninsula.

Please consider incorporating gift to this endowment in your estate plans. Speak with your attorney, accountant or other estate planning professional. Or contact the Community Foundation and we'd be glad to help facilitate your generosity.
Give Door County Publications Available for Download
Guide to Endowments

The Community Foundation produces several publications and information sheets to help you craft a strategy to give back in the most effective - and tax efficient - way possible. There are also wonderful ideas of where you might choose to give. Download them from the Community Foundation.

Our Guide to Endowments highlights different charities so families have options to consider when giving back - either today or through their estate plans. You can download an Introductory Brochure that explains the most popular charitable Funds at the Community Foundation - along with information sheets for Donor Advised Funds, Discretionary Funds, Scholarship Funds and more.

Download any these documents and more, or contact us and and we'd be glad to send them to you. And if you're an attorney, accountant, investment adviser, or trust officer, we'll send a supply of Guides, Introductory Brochures, or other materials (and display holders) for use in your office. Just contact us at the Community Foundation.

This is just another way the Community Foundation is encouraging people to give back to sustain and advance the community we love!
The Community Foundation's Board of Directors

Dave Eliot, Chair  ~  Polly Alberts, Vice Chair  ~  Dick Egan, Secretary  ~  Richard Hauser, Treasurer  ~  John Herlache, Past Chair

Bill Boettcher  ~  Jacinda Duffin  ~  Mike Felhofer  ~  Mark Jinkins  ~  Linda Laarman  ~  Frank Maxwell  ~  Kaaren Northrop  ~  Sally O'Brien  ~  Jeff Ottum  ~  Nancy Sargent  ~  Marcia Smith  ~  Jane Stevenson
 
Door County Community Foundation, Inc.
Mail: P.O. Box 802 Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235
Office: 342 Louisiana St. in Downtown Sturgeon Bay
(920) 746-1786    www.GiveDoorCounty.org
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