Every
donor is unique and has goals he or she wishes to accomplish. Many
donors give during their lifetime or create a bequest in their will.
The Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga, Inc. (CFGC) has
many different options to help donors accomplish their charitable
goals.
Donors giving through CFGC can use a full range of giving methods to establish, or add to:
- Community Funds
- Scholarship Funds
- Project Funds
- Agency Funds
- Field of Interest Funds
- Designated Funds
- Donor Advised Funds
The minimum gift to begin a fund is $5000. There is no minimum for giving to an established fund.
Benefits of Giving to the Community Foundation include:
Advantage of Size/Cost Effectiveness
By pooling contributions for administrative and investment purposes,
management costs are lower than if donors purchase these services
individually. Small funds benefit from joining the diversified investment portfolios
of the CFGC's multi-million dollar endowment. Services include accounting,
financial management, gift and grant administration, as well as, reporting to state and federal regulatory agencies.
Flexibility
Donors may establish named funds or remain anonymous, select a general
charitable purpose, or choose a very specific one, make modest gifts
or large ones, create a fund all at once or build a fund's assets over time.
A Permanent Tribute
As a living memorial, funds of the CFGC are intended to carry out
the donor's charitable interests in perpetuity.
Professional Administration
Our professional staff relieves donors of administrative responsibilities
associated with philanthropy. The staff assures continuity and responsible
management in all areas of the CFGC's work.
Tax Effectiveness
Supporting the community through the CFGC provides the highest level
tax deductibility.
An Overview of the Ways to Give:
Outright Gifts
An outright gift allows the donor to transfer cash or property
to the CFGC. Such gifts may be deducted on federal income tax returns
to the extent allowable by law. For gifts of appreciated property,
the donor also avoids capital gains tax. Outright gifts may include
cash, publicly traded securities, closely traded securities, tangible
personal property, real estate, insurance and retirement assets such as IRAs.
Gifts of Interest
Income
A Charitable Lead Trust can be described as "a gift you get
back." It allows a donor to give the income from assets placed
in a trust to the Foundation for a term of years, while retaining
the principal for the donor, heirs or a third party on the termination
of the trust. The charitable lead trust is often used as a "tax-smart"
method of passing on assets to heirs.
Gifts of Remainder
Trusts
The Charitable Remainder Trust can be described as "gifts that
give back." Charitable remainder trusts make it possible for
the donor to establish an irrevocable gift of cash or property,
while retaining an annual income stream from the trust. Donors using
this form of giving are allowed an income tax deduction for federal
returns equal to the present value of the remainder interest.
Gifts by Will
Donors often make charitable gifts by will. Whether made on an outright,
residual, or contingent basis, a gift by will can be a simple, effective
way to realize your giving goals.
Gifts of Retirement
Plan Assets (IRAs, 401Ks, 403Bs)
Qualified retirement plans can be subject to both an estate tax
and an income tax when left to heirs. More and more donors are choosing
to designate undistributed assets in qualified retirement plans
to a charity, while leaving assets subject only to the estate tax
to heirs.
Gifts of Insurance
Donors may use insurance to fund charitable giving programs. When
a policy is given outright to the CFGC, the donor is allowed a charitable
deduction equal to the cash surrender value of the policy. The premiums
paid by the donor after the policy is assigned to the CFGC are also
deductible as charitable gifts. The CFGC can also be named as a
contingent beneficiary under an insurance policy.
To learn more about giving methods, visit the Planned Giving area of this web site.
