RESOURCES
types of funds for giving
CHARITABLE FUNDS
Great giving options. Choose one that’s right for you.
Donor Advised Funds
A personal approach to giving
Establishing a Donor Advised Fund Allows you to make a gift to SCF, then remain actively involved in suggesting uses for your gift. You can work with SCF’s professional staff to suggest ongoing uses for the fund – targeting the issues you care about most. Grant awards are issued to charities in the name of the fund (or anonymously if you prefer). It’s a simple, powerful, and highly personal approach to giving.
Unrestricted Funds
Meeting ever-changing community needs
When you establish an Unrestricted Fund, your gift can address a broad range of local needs – including future needs that often cannot be anticipated at the time your gift is made. We evaluate all aspects of community well-being: Arts and culture, economic development, education, environment, health and human services, recreation and more. The flexibility of your unrestricted gift enables your community foundation’s program experts to respond to the community’s most pressing needs, today and tomorrow.
Field of Interest Funds
Connecting personal values to high-impact opportunities
By establishing a Field of Interest Fund, you can target your gift to address needs in an important area of community life. Arts, aging, and at-risk youth, are all examples. You identify your personal interest area when making your gift; our board awards grants to community organizations and programs that are making a difference in the area you select. Your gift stays flexible enough to meet community needs in your interest area – even as they change over time.
Scholarships
Investing in deserving students
In creating a Scholarship Fund, you invest in our community’s future and show students you care. SCF provides the expertise to help you meet your personal goals and awards scholarships to deserving students. Your gift can help students – from preschool to postgraduate – achieve their lifetime dreams.
Designated Funds
Helping local organizations sustain and grow
Establishing a Designated Fund allows you to support the good work of a specific nonprofit organization – your church, or alma mater, the library, hospital, museum, or virtually any nonprofit charitable organization. Because it’s given through SCF, your gift provides the organization you select not only funding, but planned giving and investment management services and the power of endowment.
Affiliate Funds
Endowing your nonprofit organization
Nonprofit organizations can also establish an Affiliate Fund, or agency endowment, at the community foundation. It’s simple and efficient way to build an endowment – and help create sustainability – for your nonprofit organization.
Supporting Organizations
High impact, high involvement, low hassle
A Supporting Organization is an excellent alternative to a private foundation – with only a fraction of the administrative responsibilities. You select some of the board members, maintain personal involvement, and support the causes you care about most while enjoying the favorable tax treatment of a public charity. Leave investment management, startup costs, grant administration, and reporting to Scott Community Foundation.
CHARITABLE INSTRUMENTS
A Variety of giving methods tailored to your unique situation.
Bequest by Will
A legacy of giving
Including a charitable bequest in your will is a simple way to make a lasting gift to your community. When you make this gift through SCF, we establish a special fund that benefits the community forever and becomes your personal legacy of giving.
Charitable Gift Annuity
Income for today, a gift for tomorrow
Giving through a Charitable Gift Annuity allows you to arrange a generous gift to your community, while providing yourself a new income source you can count on for the rest of your life.
Charitable Remainder Trust
Planning for the future – for you and your community
Giving through a Charitable Remainder Trust allows you to receive income for the rest of your life, knowing that whatever remains will benefit your community.
Charitable Lead Trust
Giving back to community and your loved ones
A Charitable Lead Trust helps you build a charitable fund with SCF during the trust’s term. When the trust terminates, the remaining assets are transferred to you and your heirs, often with significant transfer-tax savings.
CHARITABLE ASSETS
Turn what you have into charitable good.
Outright Gift
The simplest way to make a big difference
You can make a gift of cash, stocks, bonds, real estate, or other assets to SCF. Most charitable gifts qualify for maximum tax advantage under federal law.
Gift of Real Estate
A charitable gift unearthed
Making a charitable gift of real estate through SCF can help turn your property gains into community good. The value of your real estate may exceed that of any other asset you own. With the help of SCF, you can use it to fulfill your charitable interests and receive financial and tax benefits.
Gift of Life Insurance
Community as your beneficiary
Life insurance provides a simple way for you to give a significant gift to charity, with tax benefits that you can enjoy during your lifetime.
Gift of Appreciated Stock
Turning stock market gains into community investment
Everybody wins when you make a gift of appreciated stock to SCF. Your gains are put to good use. Your gift of stock is reinvested in your community, and it qualifies for an immediate tax deduction based on the full market value.
FINANCIAL ADVISORS
Should your clients give through Scott Community?
Estate and Financial advisors can consider these three reasons.
We help people connect to the causes they care about most. When your clients give through Scott Community Foundation, they…
Receive Personalized Service
We work closely with you and your clients to develop a giving approach that matches their personal interest and tax planning needs. We can help integrate charitable giving within estate and financial plans, establish Donor Advised Funds named for your clients, facilitate anonymous giving, and assist with even the most complex gift instruments.
Gain Local Expertise
Our professional program staff monitors all areas of community need – including human services, education, healthcare, recreation, the arts, and economic development. We can help your clients learn more about local agencies and programs that make a difference in the areas they care about most.
Support Community Leadership
We invest in the long term and bring people and organizations together, convening diverse voices to address local issues and opportunities. Our business is building community.
WAYS WE CAN HELP
Community Foundations can support you and your clients at every step in the charitable giving process.
We can help you:
-
Identify your clients' charitable giving interests and motivations
-
Match personal charitable interests with tax planning needs
-
Create and implement charitable plans that are integrated into major business, personal and financial decisions
-
Facilitate complex forms of giving and execute technical giving instruments (such as charitable remainder trusts)
-
Provide information on community needs – and on the local agencies and programs that make a difference in the areas your clients care about most
-
Deliver grant making expertise and a range of administrative services related to charitable giving
How Can I Recommend Charity Without Recommending a Charity?
It’s a Delicate Dilemma.
Estate planners, financial planners, and other professional advisors are often faced with a delicate dilemma: You want to discuss the many benefits of charitable giving with your clients, but you want to avoid recommending specific charitable cases or organizations.
​
Fortunately, There’s a Simple Solution.
Scott Community Foundation is a single, trusted vehicle your clients can use to address the issues they care about most, while gaining maximum tax benefit under state and federal law. We offer a variety of giving options – including the ability to set up a charitable fund in your client’s name. It’s just one way we can help you help your clients achieve their charitable goals.
PHILANTHROPY IS A VERY PERSONAL DECISION
A professional advisor can help clients realize their charitable objectives by listening for charitable giving opportunities, explaining options, and suggesting solutions. Significant giving opportunities often arise when clients are making major business, personal, and financial decisions. Our staff can work with you and your client to recommend the best charitable solution. Following are some typical scenarios:
Year-End Tax Planning
Your client just earned a large bonus and wants to give a portion back to the community, but has no time to decide on the most deserving charities. Recommend establishing a Donor Advised Fund through Scott Community Foundation for an immediate tax deduction, and the ability to stay involved in recommending uses for the gift for years to come.
Preserving an Estate
Estate planning identifies significant taxes going to the IRS, but your client wants to direct dollars for local benefit. Scott Community Foundation can work with you and your client to reduce his/her taxable estate through a charitable bequest or other planned gift. Your client’s gift will create a legacy of caring in the community that stays true to his/her charitable intent forever.
Retiring in Comfort
Your client is concerned about running out of money during his/her lifetime, but has always been charitable. Recommend establishing a life income gift (such as a charitable remainder trust) at Scott Community Foundation that pays income potentially for life. Upon your client’s death, the gift can be distributed by Scott Community Foundation in accordance with his/her charitable interests.
Establishing a Private Foundation
Your client is thinking about establishing a private foundation, but is looking for a simpler, more cost-effective alternative. Scott Community Foundation can help you and your client analyze the pros and cons of creating a Donor Advised Fund, a supporting organization or a private foundation.
Closely Held Stock
Your Client’s personal net worth is primarily tied up in a closely held company, but it’s important for him/her to give back to the community. Recommend establishing a Donor Advised Fund or planned gift; your client is eligible for a tax deduction measured by the fair market value of appreciated stock (less any planned gift value).
Sale or Disposition of Highly Appreciated Stock
Your client has appreciated stock and wants to use a portion of the gains for charitable giving, but the identified charities are too small to accept direct stock gifts. Suggest establishing a fund at Scott Community Foundation with a gift of appreciated stock. Your client receives a tax deduction on the full market value, while avoiding the capital gains tax that would otherwise arise from sale of the stock. Your client can even be involved in recommending uses for the gift, including the organization and programs he/she cares about most.
Sale of a business
Your client owns highly appreciated stock in a company that is about to be acquired. Scott Community Foundation can work with you to suggest several ways to structure a charitable gift (including the use of planned giving techniques) to help your client reduce capital gains tax and maximize impact to the community.
Strategic Giving
Your client is passionate about helping meet a specific community need and wants to make a meaningful gift. You and your client can work with our grantmaking experts to understand community needs and programs and the direct gift dollars to make the greatest impact.
Substantial IRA/401(k) assets
Your client wants to leave his/her estate to community and family, and has substantial assets in retirement accounts. Scott Community Foundation can help you and your client evaluate the most beneficial asset distribution to minimize taxes, giving more to his/her heirs and preserving charitable intent.