Iowa City Hospice looks to the future

For several years, Iowa City Hospice planned strategically to create an endowment fund, a savings account for permanently restricted gifts the nonprofit organization received from grateful families.

Last year, the not-for-profit provider of hospice care and grief support services in the Iowa City area and surrounding seven-counties set aside $500,000 creating the endowed fund through the Community Foundation of Johnson County.

Iowa City Hospice Executive Director Maggie Elliott says the organization’s board of directors will determine how income from the endowment will be used each year. Establishing the fund through the Community Foundation of Johnson County qualifies contributors to receive a 20 percent tax credit through the renewed Endow Iowa bill.

Elliott says, “The endowment fund ensures compassionate hospice care and grief support services will be available to the greater Iowa City community and beyond for generations to come.”

Iowa City Hospice received two significant leadership gifts from individuals who were critical to the development and continued strength of Iowa City Hospice.

Longtime Iowa City Hospice supporters Ina and Jerry Loewenberg and Richard and Judith Hurtig contributed to the endowment fund.

Ina Loewenberg served on the Iowa City Hospice Board of Directors and she continues to volunteer. “Both endowment funds and annual giving are critical to nonprofit organizations. An endowment is an investment in the future and annual giving serves daily operations.”

Richard Hurtig says, “Contributing to the Hospice endowment was a way of insuring the community’s future needs would continue to be met.”

Richard says, “There is a ‘joy of giving’ when you know your gift will have a positive impact on the quality of hospice care in our community. Making it possible for good people to do good things for people at a critical time of need is immensely rewarding. A gift to an endowment allows your gift to continue to have a positive impact year after year.”

Endow Iowa offers 20 percent state tax credits

The Community Foundation of Johnson County continues to offer 20 percent state tax credits for qualified endowment building programs. Donors who contribute to an Endowment Fund within the Community Foundation apply for the tax credit offered by the State of Iowa. For 2007, $2 million in tax credits were issued statewide. For 2008, an additional $1 million has been added to the program, bringing the total of tax credits to $3 million.