Giving faq

A community foundation represents simplicity. Your local community foundation acts as a “one-stop-shop” for all your charitable giving needs. Gifts to a community foundation also receive the maximum tax advantages for income, gift, and estate tax purposes. A community foundation provides the flexibility to receive unique assets, including grain and collectibles. Finally, a community foundation offers permanence, ensuring that your gift and legacy will last forever.

You can give by cash, check, online credit card donation, or a variety of other tax-advantaged giving tools. Donors may give to existing funds or establish a new charitable fund. Community endowment funds allow gifts to grow and to be leveraged with other gifts, which creates larger grants with greater impact. Donors may also recommend grants through their own donor-advised funds to charitable 501(c)(3) organizations they want to support.

Yes, you can support any of the 200+ funds held at SCCF at any time. However, there is a minimum contribution required to create any new endowed, named fund. For designated, donor-advised, and unrestricted funds, this amount is $5,000. Field of interest funds have a minimum of $10,000 requirement, and scholarship funds are $25,000. Click here to donate now!

All money managed by SCCF is voluntarily donated by individuals, families, and businesses via cash, publicly-traded stocks or securities, tangible personal property, life insurance, etc. Gifts are then permanently endowed, and a committee of volunteers oversees the strategy for investing these. Each year, the earnings from endowment funds are given away in the form of grants and scholarships.

A fund is a pool of money set aside for a charitable purpose. Creating a fund is an ideal opportunity for you to create a legacy for you, your family, and your community. SCCF offers donors the ability to name, contribute, and decide the purpose of the fund. For information on starting a fund contact our President and CEO, Jennifer Danic, at 260-665-6656 or jdanic@steubenfoundation.org. 

Yes, at SCCF we encourage donors to work with a financial advisor because a professional advisor assists clients in achieving their philanthropic goals or plans for their final estate. Financial advisors and lawyers have the ability to walk clients through tax implications of giving tools or other goals of their estate. SCCF is happy to work with a financial advisor to fulfill a donor’s wishes.

SCCF’s takes seriously our responsibility to follow-through on a donor’s intention any time they make a gift. In the majority of situations, a donor designates a specific organization or charitable purpose to benefit from their gift. If a purpose is not stated by the donor, the SCCF Board determines where that money is allocated. In some cases, these unrestricted gifts are pooled to support grant requests in our Spirit of Community cycles. 

Donor advised funds are distinct from private foundations in two ways. First, donor advised funds benefit from SCCF’s established grantmaking strategy and practices. SCCF can offer a donor local knowledge of current community needs and connections with the organizations and individuals addressing those.

From a technical perspective, a donor advised fund can offer a simple alternative to the legal and accounting requirements of creating a private foundation. Donor advised funds use SCCF’s charitable tax status and can be established anonymously. SCCF takes care of tax reports, audits, and ensuring the donor’s wishes are carried out permanently. In contrast, private foundations have specific rules about public disclosure and may not offer the same tax advantages. For more specific guidance, contact your professional advisor or reach out to SCCF’s President & CEO at 260-665-6656 or jdanic@steubenfoundation.org.

SCCF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, tax #35-187065. Tax deductions are earned at the time the gift is made, while grants from investment earnings continue into the future. For instructions on wiring and transferring, click here: Wiring Instructions