Helping donors do good work … forever.
The Middletown Community Foundation is a nonprofit, community corporation created by and for the people of the greater Middletown area. We are here to help our donors make a positive impact on their community.
Three special features of community foundations:
One: personalized service. We make giving easy and effective, accepting a variety of charitable gifts and providing donors a number of charitable options. Donors can contribute cash, appreciated securities, property, bequests, and other assets. Your clients may establish a fund in their name or in the name of a loved one. Your client’s gifts will gain maximum tax advantages.
Two: local expertise. Our professional staff has an in-depth understanding of the issues, opportunities and resources that shape our community. They monitor all areas of community need …including human services, education, economic development, the arts, the environment and healthcare. We can help you and your clients to learn more about local organizations and programs that make a difference in areas they care about.
Three: community leadership. We invest in the long term and bring people and organizations together, convening diverse voices to address local issues and opportunities. Our business is building community.
Community foundations provide a simple, powerful and highly personal approach to giving.
We offer a variety of giving tools to help people achieve their charitable goals. Your clients can give cash, appreciated securities, real estate, or other assets, and can receive maximum charitable and tax benefits. For more information and ideas on ways to integrate your client’s financial and estate planning with charitable giving, please contact the Foundation at 513-424-7369.
Ways to Give
What to Give
Donors have a variety of giving options to consider when creating a new charitable fund or adding to an existing fund. The following guidelines are provided to current and prospective donors and their advisors when gifting to the Foundation.
Cash
Cash, usually in the form of a check, is the most common form for charitable gifts. Cash gifts enable your client as donor to claim a current income tax deduction of up to fifty percent of their adjusted gross income in the year of the gift with a five-year carry-forward if needed. Actual savings from gifts of cash depend on their tax bracket – generally, the higher the tax bracket, the lower the cost of the gift. All checks should be made payable to The Middletown Community Foundation with the name of the specific fund or the Greatest Needs Fund indicated on the memo line of the check.
Securities
A gift of appreciated securities (such as stocks, bonds, and mutual funds) can also be used to establish a fund or add to an existing fund. Appreciated securities held long term often provide important tax advantages, as their full market value is generally deductible as a charitable contribution up to thirty percent of the donor’s adjusted gross income. Like gifts of cash, deduction amounts that exceed the limit can be carried forward for up to five additional years. Please contact us for delivery instructions and assistance.
Real Estate
Gifts of real estate include a gift of a house or other personal residence, farm, commercial building, and income producing or non-income producing land. The Foundation accepts gifts of unencumbered real property, which can allow your client to contribute more than they may have thought possible. When gifting real property, your client can avoid capital gains on the sale of the property and can take a charitable tax deduction for the fair market value of the real property. All gifts of real estate are evaluated on a case-by-case basis, are subject to our real estate guidelines, and are subject to formal acceptance by the Foundation’s Board of Trustees. Please contact us for more information and assistance.
Mutual Funds
Mutual funds can also be contributed outright to the Foundation to establish a fund or to be added to an existing fund. Donors generally receive a deduction based on the value of the mutual fund at its public redemption price. Completing the gift transaction varies depending on the specific asset (s) and how they are held. However in some cases, electronic transfers via wire to a broker are possible, and may be completed within a few days, similar to gifts of appreciated securities. Please contact us for assistance.
Closely Held Stock/Partnership Interests
Closely held stocks are shares in a privately-owned business. The stock can be contributed outright to a public charity such as the Middletown Community Foundation, and the donor is generally entitled to a deduction for the appraised fair market value of the gift for up to 30 percent of the donor’s adjusted gross income. If the claimed value exceeds $10,000 a “qualified appraisal” is required. The Foundation can sell the stock to any potential buyers and is not legally bound to sell the donated shares. Special rules apply to shares of sub-chapter S corporation stock. Tangible Personal Property Gifts of tangible personal property such as jewelry, artwork, collectibles, antiques, vehicles, and boats may be donated to the Foundation to establish a fund or to be added to an existing fund. This type of gift must be evaluated individually by the Foundation for suitability before being accepted.
The IRA Charitable Rollover
The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2013 reenacted the Charitable IRA Rollover as a current giving strategy for calendar year 2013. A donor aged 70 ½ or older may directly transfer from an IRA up to $100,000 to a public charity such as the Middletown Community Foundation. Donors may utilize this strategy to establish or add to a scholarship fund, a designated fund, an unrestricted fund or a field of interest fund at the Foundation. The IRA Charitable Rollover strategy enables your clients to make an IRA distribution to charity without including the distribution as taxable income to the donor. Please contact us for further information and assistance.
Credit Card
If your client wants to make a gift via credit card to any of our existing funds or to support the work of the Foundation through our Membership program, they may do so via our website at www.mcfoundation.org and click on the Donate Now box.
We are here to help you help your clients to achieve their charitable goals.
Information is for Educational Purposes only and not intended as tax advice. Please consult your legal and tax advisor prior to making any decision.