Ways to Give

There are several ways to give to the community.  Through careful planning of the form and timing of gifts, contributors to the Greater Green Bay Community Foundation and other charities have found that they can have a lasting impact on their community while improving the quality of life and preserving their estates for their family and friends.  Gifts to the Community Foundation and other charities offer maximum tax advantages and take a variety of forms.  The Community Foundation encourages donors to seek independent professional counsel of an attorney, accountant, or other qualified expert to insure a complete and accurate understanding of a charitable gift. 
Here are the ways that you can give:

Cash
Securities
Real Estate
Wills & Bequests
Life Insurance
Deferred Gifts
 

Cash
A cash gift is the most convenient and simplest form of giving.  Cash allows
you to give according to your means each year.  Cash qualifies as a
charitable contribution for federal income tax purposes and are deductible up to 50% of your adjusted gross income in the year you make a gift.  Deduction amounts exceeding this limit may be carried forward for up to five additional years.  The Community Foundation accepts cash, checks, and credit cards.

Securities
Gifts of appreciated securities may also be donated to a charity or to create a fund at the Community Foundation.  By transferring the securities, you may completely avoid capital gains tax, while securing
an income tax deduction for the full current fair market value of the gift of securities-equaling up to 30% of your adjusted gross income in the year of the gift.

Real Estate
A gift of real estate yields a deduction for the full fair market value of the property and avoidance of capital gains as is a gift of securities.  An additional benefit is the option to retain the right to live in a residence or farm that you contribute.

Wills & Bequests
In your will you can include gifts to your favorite charity or to the Greater Green Bay Community Foundation in the following forms: cash, stock or property; real estate; a gift in trust to benefit family members during their lives, with principal conveyed to the recipients at their passing; or a gift of the remainder of your estate when other specific bequests have been fulfilled.  

If interested in leaving a gift for charity in a will or bequest, the following verbiage is acceptable: I, _________________, give, devise and bequeath the sum of ______ (insert dollar amount) or ____ % of the residue of my estate to _________________, (insert name of nonprofit) a nonprofit organization located in Green Bay, Wisconsin.


Life Insurance
There are several ways you can give through life insurance.  You can donate a new policy, give a policy you already own, assign the dividends as a gift, or name the GGBCF or another favorite charity as a beneficiary.  In addition to estate tax benefits, when you make a gift of an insurance policy you also gain an income tax deduction.  Insurance premiums paid thereafter by you are deductible as charitable gifts.

Deferred Gifts
Deferred gifts, including Charitable Remainder Unitrusts, Charitable Remainder Annuity Trusts, and Charitable Gift Annuities, are gifts in which the donor makes an irrevocable transfer of assets to the Community Foundation.  In return, the donor receives a lifetime income interest for specified beneficiaries, the donor, a spouse, children, or a friend.  Thereafter, the Community foundation receives the assets representing the gift.