As 2008 comes to a close, you, like many other people might be breathing a sigh of relief and hoping that 2009 brings a more stable market and greater economic prosperity for all people. At Grand Rapids Community Foundation we offer a range of giving options—all of which will benefit the community in this time of great need and some of which may even improve your tax situation.
The Michigan Tax Credit for Community Foundations is a great giving option. It will help you save on your Michigan taxes when you give to one of the endowed funds at Grand Rapids Community Foundation. Married couples will receive a tax credit of 50 percent up to a maximum credit of $200, single people a tax credit of 50 percent up to a maximum credit of $100. Michigan businesses have the potential to receive up to a $5,000 tax credit (not to exceed 5% of total Single Business Tax) on a gift of $10,000.
If you like the idea of giving online, making a gift through the Community Foundation’s website is easy and secure. Click here if you'd like to donate now. Your gift is processed through Network For Good and on the very first page of the website, you’ll have the option of designating your gift. You may give to the Community Foundation’s Fund for Community Good or a Field of Interest Fund (the African American Heritage Fund, Homeless Prevention Fund, and several funds for children and youth are among some of the funds we offer). You can also give to any of the Foundation’s many nonprofit agency funds. All these types of gifts (which are endowed) qualify for the Michigan Tax Credit for Community Foundations.
If this is the time of year that you do an annual review of your estate plan, you have the opportunity to make your hard-earned money benefit the community through a charitable bequest or other planned gift to the Community Foundation. Through our endowment, your gift will benefit our community forever. Plus, a bequest or planned gift gives you membership in the Community Foundation’s Metz Society and its many benefits. It is interesting to note that the Community Foundation’s first bequest ($100,000) was received in 1929, at the start of the Great Depression and it was a gift that helped people then and still helps families in Grand Rapids today.
If you are newly retired and want to continue your charitable ways and ensure your financial comfort for the rest of your life, we can help you establish a lifetime gift, such as a charitable gift annuity (CGA) with the Community Foundation. With your CGA you will receive fixed payments from the Community Foundation and a tax deduction in the year the gift is made. After death, your gift will become part of the community’s permanent endowment, improving the lives of people in Grand Rapids.
Grand Rapids Community Foundation has many other giving options and our development staff is always available to help. Please call Marilyn, Gina or Jonse at 616.454.1751 today.