Benefits of Giving
We offer you, as a donor, a variety of charitable giving options that can help you to achieve your charitable dreams.
If you answer yes to any of the following questions, then making a gift through The Foundation makes good sense.
- Do you want to make a long-term difference in your community?
- Do you give to more than one charitable cause?
- Are you interested in creating a personal or family legacy in your community?
- Would you like to honor or create a lasting memorial tribute to a loved one?
- Would you like to stay personally involved in the use of your gift dollars?
- Do you want to receive maximum tax benefits for your charitable contributions under Pennsylvania and federal law?
- Do you place a priority on sound financial management of your contributions?
Following is a summary of some of the most important benefits you will realize by giving through The Central Susquehanna Community Foundation.
Because The Foundation is a public charity rather than a private foundation, all donations earn the maximum available tax deduction for charitable contributions. Our funds also avoid the excise taxes and other restrictions placed on private foundations. Both outright and planned gifts have attractive tax advantages for the donor. Donors should consult their tax advisors before making a charitable gift.
Cash
Donors can claim a current income tax deduction, maximum deduction allowable for Adjusted Gross Income (AGI).
Stocks, Bonds, or Mutual Funds
Gifts of appreciated security are deductible at their full market value, as long as they have been held longer than 12 months. The market value is determined by the mean of the high and low trade price on the day the security was transferred to The Foundation. Donors receive further tax benefits on capital gains, which are completely avoided with this type of gift.
Real Estate
Gifts of real estate, if held for more than 12 months, are deductible for the maximum according to the donor's AGI.
Qualified Retirement Plans
If a donor chooses The Foundation as a beneficiary of their retirement plan, while leaving other assets to their heirs, they can avoid estate and income tax on this asset.
Life Insurance
Donors who name The Foundation as a beneficiary of an insurance policy are entitled to a deduction for the cash surrender value in the year the gift was made.
Advised Funds vs. Private Foundations
There are also numerous tax advantages to setting up a donor advised fund with The Central Susquehanna Community Foundation versus a private foundation. For instance, your CSCF fund will not pay excise tax. Also, there will be no minimum required annual payout.
Life Income Gifts
Charitable Gift Annuities and Charitable Trusts can provide both a tax benefit and a life income to the donor or designated beneficiary. To learn more about planned giving please visit Planned Giving Design Center or call our Director of Development for a personal illustration.
The Central Susquehanna Community Foundation does not provide legal or financial advice. Donors are encouraged to contact their legal and financial advisors when considering establishing a fund or making a planned gift to The Central Susquehanna Community Foundation.
Permanence
As living memorials, funds at the CSCF carry out their donor’s charitable interests in perpetuity. Should a funds purpose become outdated by time, it will be redirected to similar purposes. All grants from a fund are made in the donor’s name.
Cost Effectiveness
Because your fund is invested along with many others, we can achieve significant economies of scale in both investment and administration. Component funds of all sizes are invested and managed together, as a family of funds. With $26 million in assets, The Foundation uses the best investors in the field to manage its funds.
Flexibility
You can create a fund that carries out well-defined interests and wishes. And you can do this by donating a variety of assets including cash, stock, closely held securities, real estate, or property. If you would like your fund to support several different charities named by you each year, we can do that. If instead you would like to support a general area of interest, such as the arts or preschool education, we can do that too. There is also the option of giving unrestricted funds, allowing the foundation to choose where the need is greatest.
Simplicity
Donors can establish their own, unique philanthropic fund while avoiding the complications of a private foundation. Most funds can be created in one brief meeting. Afterward, you retain the satisfaction of giving while the foundation takes care of all the paperwork.
Community Impact
The Central Susquehanna Community Foundation can help you to target your dollars toward projects that will meet the community's most pressing needs and promising opportunities. Our staff and board have a breadth of knowledge of area charities and agencies and an understanding of the challenges faced in our communities. We can help you to measure the impact of your dollars through grant reviews.
Financial Planning
Future gifts set up through a will, trust, life insurance policy, or retirement assets often provide attractive savings on estate taxes and capital gains. We would be happy to work with you and your financial advisor in considering these options.