Giving

HOW TO GIVE

The Shiawassee Community Foundation is an easy way for all people to give something back to their community. Giving through the Foundation is not complicated, nor does it require great wealth. Over the years, the Foundation has received gifts from numerous donors ranging from just $1 to over $2 million.

You have several options when making a gift to your Community Foundation. You may contribute to one of our named funds under Scholarships or Grants. All donors are sent an acknowledgement letter for tax purposes.

Gifts can be made in memory of a loved one or to honor someone celebrating a special event like a birthday, anniversary, wedding, or a holiday. The Foundation will send the special person a letter stating that a gift was made in their honor. If a gift is made in memory of someone, the Foundation will send a letter to the family advising them of the donation.

All donations to the Community Foundation are eligible for the Federal Income Tax charitable deduction. Checks should be made payable to Shiawassee Community Foundation. For more information, please read our Giving Guide.

ESTABLISHING A FUND AT THE FOUNDATION

The major responsibility of the Foundation is to carry out the original donor’s intent for each fund, award grants and scholarships, and use prudent spending guidelines to protect the funds invested in perpetuity.

The Foundation offers the following types of funds:

  • Field of Interest Fund
    • The founding contributor establishes this type of fund to support a specific charitable interest, such as the arts, youth, ecology, services for the elderly, or health and human services.
  • Designated/Agency Fund
    • Individuals or non-profit organizations establish this type of fund to award grants to a specific agency and/or non-profit as a source of ongoing support.
  • Community Cares Unrestricted Fund
    • The founding contributer allows the Foundation to provide resourses to improve the quality of life for people in the Shiawassee County by addressing emerging needs.
  • Scholarship Fund
    • The founding contributor advises the Foundation what the criteria of the scholarship fund will be.

The minimum required to create an Endowed fund at the Shiawassee Community Foundation is $10,000. A smaller initial gift may be approved by the board if the donor sufficiently demonstrates that the fund will reach the minimum value through additional gifts during the first year. Distributions from the fund will occur after the assets of the fund have reached an endowed balance of $10,000 and earnings are sufficient according to the Foundation’s Spending Policy. Determination of the annual grant/scholarship amounts are based on the previous 28 quarters’ moving average balance of the market value of the endowment fund ending September 30th.

Administrative fees are assessed quarterly from the income of each fund by type as follows:

Fund TypeAdministration Fee
Designated/Agency1.25%
Field of Interest and Community Cares Unrestricted Fund1.50%
Scholarship Fund2%

For a copy of our gift/fund acceptance policy, click here.

View our fundraising policy here.

Leave a Legacy That Lasts Forever

There are three ways to make a planned gift to your Legacy Fund:

Designate the Shiawassee Community Foundation as the beneficiary of your IRA or 401(k)

Changing the beneficiary does not involve modifying your estate plan.

Designate the Shiawassee Community Foundation as the beneficiary of a life insurance policy

There is no need to modify your estate plan. Many policy issuers will allow you to identify multiple beneficiaries.

Ask your attorney to add the Shiawassee Community Foundation to your estate plan

Talk to the Shiawassee Community Foundation and your professional advisor to learn about all the options that match your giving interests for the community. You can customize a Fund Agreement that will become active once the Foundation receives funds from your estate.