When you want to add to your fund

Featured Fund

Glenn Allen Scott and Anne C. Brower Cultural Endowment

When Glenn Scott and Anne Brower wed in Norfolk 2001 they chose charity over china by starting a field-of-interest fund for the arts through the Hampton Roads Community Foundation.

Your charitable fund is already up and doing good works. Congratulations, and thank you on behalf of your community foundation and all of Hampton Roads.

You may have reasons to grow your fund. More community impact may be a goal. Or you may have tax considerations after selling a business or stock, for example. We can help you accomplish no matter your goals.

The good news is you've already decided your fund's purpose, completed paperwork and donated the minimum amount to get it started. Please remember that you – or anyone else – can make gifts of any size to your fund. You can even start an additional one with a different purpose if you like. Our team of helpful experts is ready to help you.

Which assets should you donate?

Hampton Roads Community Foundation can accept many different assets to grow your fund.

Cash is certainly welcome but may not always be your best choice. Gifts of appreciated stock, for example, may give you both a larger dollar-for-dollar charitable deduction and an exemption from capital gains taxes on the appreciation.

Hampton Roads Community Foundation accepts the following forms of charitable gifts:

Cash

Cash gifts may be deducted up to 50 percent of adjusted gross income for income tax purposes. Contributions over that limit can be carried over for up to five years. You can donate online or by sending a check to Hampton Roads Community Foundation, 101 W. Main Street, Suite 4500, Norfolk, VA 23510.

Publicly traded securities

You receive a double benefit if your stock has appreciated. First, you get an immediate charitable deduction for the entire fair market value of the securities donated, regardless of what you originally paid for the stock. Second, you pay no capital gains tax on the appreciation in the stock's value since you first bought it. The fair market value of contributed securities can be deducted up to 30 percent of the donor's adjusted gross income. Contributions over that limit can be carried over for up to five years.

See how we make transferring stock easy.

Mutual fund shares

Like gifts of publicly traded securities, gifts of mutual fund shares are deductible up to full fair market value. Some mutual fund companies have special procedures for gifts of mutual funds. The effective date of the gift and possibly the year for which the deduction is available is determined by the date the transfer of mutual funds is completed.

Closely-held stock

The contributed value per share must be discounted from the value per share for a controlling interest, as determined by a qualified independent appraisal. There can be no agreement restricting or requiring the resale of the stock by the charitable recipient. If the company offers to redeem the shares, however, the charity can take the proceeds or reinvest them for a better return. The company does not reissue the shares; all shares outstanding increase in value.

An alternative outcome to redemption by the corporation is the voluntary purchase of shares from the charity by younger family members or key non-family employees.

Life insurance

You may find you no longer need the financial protection offered by one or more of your life insurance policies. The policy can become an ideal tool for charitable giving.

You start by irrevocably assigning your insurance policy to the Hampton Roads Community Foundation and naming us (and your fund) as the sole beneficiary. You continue to pay the policy's annual premium, but that is now tax deductible.

Or, if the policy is paid up, you will receive an immediate tax deduction equal to the policy's cash surrender value.

Real estate

Gifts of real estate can include a house, apartment building, farm, vacation home, commercial buildings and land.

A gift of real estate typically requires certain procedural steps prior to acceptance, including a site visit to the property, a qualified appraisal, a preliminary title report and an environmental assessment.

Other property

You may wish to donate an automobile, antiques or jewelry. We will accept these types of gifts, under certain circumstances.  Any item valued at $5,000 or more is subject to Internal Revenue Service guidelines and must be appraised by an impartial party.

IRA rollover funds

If you are 70-1/2 or older, you have a special option for charitable giving – donating Individual Retirement Account assets directly to charity. You can transfer any amount up to $100,000 a year without the distribution counting as taxable income.

You can use the IRA assets to start a new charitable fund or add to an existing one.

Instructions for transferring IRA assets to the community foundation

 

Giving later: tools for planned giving

You may decide that the best time to add to your fund is through your estate after you are gone. Accomplishing this can be as simple as a clause in your will or via other planned gifts.

Visit our Bequests section to learn more and be sure to meet with your professional advisor.

With planned giving, you can:

  • Guarantee your charitable wishes are carried out through your community foundation
  • Earn annual income using tax-deductible charitable giving instruments
  • Protect certain assets using tax-deductible charitable giving instruments
  • Ensure your best asset (tax-wise) goes to friends and family members

When you visit our planned giving section, you will find

A special birthday or anniversary coming up? Tell family and friends you'd rather a donation to your fund than gifts. And they'll get a charitable tax deduction!