Why Donate
You Can Make a Difference
Individuals, families, businesses and organizations create permanent
charitable funds that help our region meet the challenges of
changing times. The foundation invests and administers these funds.
We then use the distributions to award grants to many of the
humanitarian, educational and cultural organizations in this
remarkable region we call home.
Charitable giving.
It's an investment in our community's future.
You've worked hard to achieve your goals and to support the causes
and institutions you believe in. Charitable giving is an important
part of your life. As someone who knows the value of giving, you
want to be assured that your gifts will meet vital needs and improve
our community.
You want to know your gifts will achieve positive results and, of
course, maximize your tax deductions. You may want to involve your
family in your giving. You want a tasteful level of recognition-or
perhaps you want anonymity.
But most of all, you want an easy and flexible way to accomplish
your objectives.
There is a simple way for you to make a difference and leave a
lasting legacy in our community. You can make a difference for good,
a difference forever-and that's by establishing a fund with us.
What's a "community" foundation?
We're a community foundation, a tax-exempt public charity that
enables people like you to establish charitable funds. Your fund
will be commingled with our other funds and managed professionally.
Its assets will grow over time. You and your family and colleagues
are encouraged to continue giving to the fund to help it grow even
more. Grants will be awarded from your fund to support local
nonprofit organizations, in accordance with your interests.
Like all community foundations, we are overseen by a volunteer board
of leading citizens and run by professionals with expertise in
knowing our community's needs. We go beyond simply making grants
that advance charitable activities: we also identify current and
emerging issues, stimulate resources to address those needs and help
our region prepare for the future.
It's for these reasons that community foundations represent one of
the fastest growing areas of philanthropy. When charitably minded
people like you seek suitable ways to give, we can help you make a
difference.
How does it work?
The community foundation idea is simple: Anyone
may use it go give something back to the community.
Assets that you donate to the foundation create one of several
types of funds to support your charitable goals. We offer you a full
menu of planned giving options to tailor your gift.
You can create a fund in honor of someone you love or to celebrate a
special event. You can direct your gift broadly or narrowly to
issues you care about or to wherever the needs are greatest. However
you give, your gift can change lives-today and in the future.
We use professionals to invest and manage our assets. Our board is
made up of local citizens who know the community. And our staff can
help you create the gift that makes the difference you want.
We offer you power and flexibility in charitable giving without the
paperwork, time and expenses associated with running your own
private foundation. We can help you set up a fund that will maximize
both your tax advantages and your impact in the community-now and
forever.
Here are some ways we can help you:
- Managing the fund, overseeing its investment and maintaining
tax records
- Providing the services of experienced grantmakers who know
the community, its needs and its organizations
- Ensuring that grants are always awarded in the name of your
fund
- Issuing regular financial reports detailing the status of
the fund
How do I create a fund?
1. Decide When to Give
You can create your fund now, establish it in
your will, or create it through a trust arrangement that benefits
your family as well as charity. You may give in honor of an
anniversary, to celebrate a special event or to support a cause. Tax
deductions are earned at the time of your gift, while grants awarded
from your fund will continue into the future.
2. Decide What to Give
Almost any kind of asset can be used to start
your fund, such as cash, publicly traded securities, closely held
stock, interests in limited partnerships, real estate, life
insurance, tangible personal property and private foundation assets.
We can also discuss other options with you, such as bequests,
charitable remainder unitrusts, charitable remainder annuity trusts,
charitable lead trusts, pooled income funds, charitable gift
annuities, life income and deferred charitable gift annuities.
3. Choose the Name for Your Fund
Most of our funds are named for the donor or the
donor's family or as a memorial to someone special. Every grant from
the fund will carry this name. If you prefer anonymity, you may
choose a name that reflects your fund's charitable purposes.
4. Choose a Type of Fund
We offer a variety of funds that are flexible to
meet our donors' different charitable interests:
Unrestricted Funds
- offer the broadest giving option, allowing grants to be made
wherever our professional staff determines our community's needs
are the greatest.
Field-of-Interest Funds
- create grants that meet needs in a particular field or
geographic area that is of interest to you.
Donor-Advised Funds
- enable you to recommend specific organizations to receive
grants.
Scholarship Funds
- help students pursue academic goals. You may define
guidelines for candidacy, the advisory committee, the school and
the award itself.
Designated Funds
- let you support specific organizations while we make sure
that grants to these groups remain relevant over time and
responsive to changing circumstances.
Organizational Endowment Funds
- are established by nonprofit organizations to provide income
to them. We handle all administrative and investment
responsibilities, freeing the organization to pursue its
charitable mission.
Seven Steps to Easy Philanthropy
1. Discuss your overall philanthropic goals with
your family members and legal or tax advisors.
2. Decide how much you can afford to give.
3. Determine the causes/organizations that will use your donations
to meet the goals you support.
4. Meet with us to discuss your plan. Ask questions, explore the
different gift vehicles available to you and review the documents
needed to implement your plan.
5. Share the documents with your family and your professional
advisors.
6. Transfer your gift to us.
7. Review our confirmation of your completed gift and the ongoing
progress of grants that are awarded from your fund.
Why choose us?
We Know Our Community
When you choose to invest in the future of our
community, you want to work with someone who knows the territory.
The broad cross-section of leaders who guide our work lends valuable
insight that will help your charitable giving achieve maximum
results.
We Help You Achieve Superior Tax Benefits
Since the IRS considers us a public charity,
contributions are eligible for the highest available tax deductions.
In most cases, these tax benefits outweigh using your assets to
establish your own private foundation.
We Make Set-Up and Administration Easy
Establishing a fund can be done in less time than
it takes to open a bank account. We take care of all the
administrative and grantmaking activities, eliminating the need for
you to set up a separate institution, formulate policies, file
innumerable forms and monitor the status of grant recipients. We
save you precious time and money.
We Share Your Interests
 We
are here to help you become connected to the issues you care about
most. Your charitable interests and priorities are important to us
because committed, caring citizens are so important to our
community's well-being.
We Care About the Future
By setting up a fund, you have the ideal
opportunity to create a legacy for yourself and for our area.
Go ahead. Make a difference.
By establishing a fund with us, you'll know your gifts are in
good hands. Our staff can help you identify where your gifts will
best benefit the community.
The result is a lasting legacy that addresses the needs of today
and the challenges of tomorrow, establishes a tradition of
philanthropy and ensures that your fund will develop community
capital to improve the quality of life now and well into the future.
We are your premier local source for comprehensive charitable
gift planning. To learn more about establishing a fund, please
contact us.
What do I do now?
Contact our foundation staff. You may know precisely which
organizations you want to support or you may not. In either case, we
can help you shape a grantmaking program that fits your needs and
carries out your charitable intent forever. Let us show you just how
easy, flexible and effective your charitable giving can be. And how
you can make a difference by giving something back to the community
that helped you get where you are today.
Please contact:
Ralph W. Kletzien, Interim Executive Director
The Portage Foundation
138 East Main Street
Kent, Ohio 44240
Phone: 330-474-0480
Fax: 330-474-0481
E-mail:
executivedirector@portagefoundation.org
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