Feb 08 2011
Better yourself, community
I’m fortunate to work with the Community Foundation of Johnson County’s contributors, recipients and volunteers. I’ve learned whether you give or receive we are all in this together.
I’ve also learned that your place in this cycle can change. You might be a donor now because 40 years ago someone gave you a scholarship that changed your life. Maybe your marriage ended or your spouse died and you needed counseling. Perhaps you gave to the library because it is a great place to take your kids. If you walked your dog this week maybe it was it in park that was donated. Maybe you gave to Iowa City Hospice because a loved one received end-of-life care. After a while it becomes hard to tell whether you are the donor or the recipient. More often than not it depends on when you were asked.
Regardless of whether you are a contributor or recipient, the Community Foundation of Johnson County makes sense. It’s a great investment. We must be able to trust the Foundation will use money wisely, and for its intended purposes. The Community Foundation asks that question and we will never stop asking that question. Here is how we respond.
1) We make connections local. We focus exclusively on Johnson County and our projects include arts and culture, education, human services, public or societal, environmental and youth. This year, we evaluated more than $1 million in grant applications. Each year, we allocate approximately $120,000. All projects must pass a rigorous screening by our community volunteers. We want you to know what we can fund and what we can’t. We want you to take a look and decide if any of the unfunded or partially-funded projects strike a chord with you. We want everyone in the community to know about our process. We believe support comes with understanding.
2) The Community Foundation offers small foundations a lot of convenience. Regulations for filing and disclosure have increased dramatically. The Community Foundation offers private foundations numerous benefits including economies of scale that reduce costs. We deal with the paperwork, file the tax returns and handle the due diligence involved in making grants and tracking investments. And, we conduct an annual audit. Simply stated, if you have a private foundation you will have more to give and more time if you transfer your donor-advised fund to the Community Foundation.
3) Our Board of Directors includes bankers, financial planners, attorneys, professors, accountants and local business owners. Our Board is invested in the Community Foundation. We help raise the money and oversee the investment and distribution as if it was our own because some of it is.
4) We offer greater tax benefits than any other foundation private or public. If you invest in a Community Foundation endowment, your contributions receive a 25 percent investment tax credit. This is a much more than a simple deduction. This tax advantage gives groups that invest their funds with us greater leverage to raise more funds on their behalf – and it gives donors a bigger bang for their buck.
By investing in the Community Foundation, your wishes extend beyond your years and beyond your heirs. We help you better understand the loop between donor and recipient. Together we can close the loop to better our community.
Casey Cook, President 2010-2011
Johnson County Community Foundation
