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Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Community Foundation?
Wichita County Community Foundation, Inc. is 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 Wichita
County 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 to give
something back to your 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 can help you
create the gift that makes the difference you want.
We offer you power and flexibility in charitable giving without the
legal 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: 1) Managing the fund,
overseeing its investment and maintaining tax records; 2) Filing tax
returns and providing an independent audit; 3) Providing the services
of experienced grantmakers who know the community, its needs and its
organizations; 4) Ensuring that grants are always awarded in the name
of your fund; and 5) 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 to 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.
Why Choose Us?
We Know Our Community - When you choose to invest in the
future of Wichita County, 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 you 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
connection to the issues you care about most. Your charitable
interests and priorities are important to us because committed,
caring citizens are so important to Wichita County's well-being.
We Care About the Future - By setting up a fund, you have the
ideal opportunity to create a legacy for you and for Wichita County. |
