Benefits to Donors
Giving through the Siouxland Community Foundation offers distinct advantages.
SIMPLICITY – There is no set-up fee to create a fund and a minimum of paperwork is required.
EFFICIENCY – One contribution to the Community Foundation can address a wide range of donor interests to benefit one or a number of community needs and nonprofit organizations.
PERMANENCE – A gift to create an endowment fund will continue to provide benefits in perpetuity . . . For good. For ever.
FLEXIBILITY – Donors can realize nearly any charitable intent by choosing from among the variety of fund types offered by the Foundation. All types of funds can be tailored to meet donor needs and interests. Great flexibility is also offered in the ways to give. A wide variety of assets can be considered for making a contribution. The Community Foundation can accept gifts of cash, securities, real estate, personal property, or life insurance. Contributions can be made during a donor’s lifetime and/or through bequests and other planned giving arrangements. Funds can also be established with pledges payable over a period of time.
CONVENIENCE – Establishing a fund with the Community Foundation is less costly and time consuming than handling it yourself. We handle all of the paperwork, record keeping and administrative details in our office.
DONOR INVOLVEMENT – Donors can choose the level of involvement in grant making from their fund which ranges from having the Foundation make all grant making decisions, to designating an organization(s) to perpetually benefit, to donor making ongoing recommendations for grants.
TAX BENEFITS – The Internal Revenue Service has classified the Foundation as tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. As such, all contributions to the Foundation are deductible to the greatest extent allowed by law. In most cases, tax deductions for gifts to a community foundation outweigh those using assets to establish a private foundation. Donors making contributions to a permanent endowment fund after January 1, 2005 may be eligible to receive an Endow Iowa tax credit.
FEWER RESTRICTIONS – The Siouxland Community Foundation is not subject to many of the rules imposed on private foundations, such as payout requirements or excise taxes.
PROFESSIONAL MANAGEMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITY – Funds administered by the Foundation are pooled for investment purposes which provide optimum investment diversification for individual funds of any size. Professional investment management is closely monitored by our Finance and Investment Committee and our Board of Directors. All grants as well as gifts received are detailed in our annual report. In addition, a professional independent audit is performed annually.
STEWARDSHIP – Staff and board of directors are dedicated to providing lasting stewardship of the charitable funds entrusted to the Community Foundation so charitable gifts will benefit Siouxland forever.
SHARED INTERESTS – We work with you, the donor, to guarantee that funds are distributed according to your intent. Our grant making services help you support the needs and organizations that you care about most.
