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Hancock County Community Foundation

Give where you live. Grow where you live.

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Why Give

Giving Through the Hancock County Community Foundation

There are very good reasons people choose to give through the Hancock County Community Foundation!

  • We are a local organization with deep roots in the community.
  • We understand the community’s issues and needs, and work with area organizations to coordinate resources in order to create positive change.
  • We offer the flexibility for you to give locally, nationally, or abroad.
  • We provide personalized and completely confidential service tailored to each individual’s charitable and financial interests.
  • We accept a wide variety of assets and can facilitate many ways of giving.
  • We can partner with your professional advisors to create highly effective approaches to charitable giving.
  • We offer maximum tax advantages under federal law for most gifts, which may include:
    • Income tax savings
    • Avoidance of additional tax owed by survivors
    • Estate and gift tax savings
    • Increased lifetime income
  • We multiply the impact of gift dollars by pooling them with other gifts: we are responsible stewards.
  • We build endowment funds that benefit the community forever and help you create your personal legacy.

Questions?

The Hancock County Community Foundation is a public charity and gifts made to the Foundation are tax deductible. HCCF will send you an acknowledgement of your gift and a tax receipt. For HCCF’s policies regarding all gift types, please review HCCF Gift Acceptance Policy here and Privacy Statement here.

Simply call our Vice President of Finance and Operations, Marie Felver, at 317.462.8870, ext. 223 and she can provide you or your financial advisor all the information necessary to make the transaction directly to our investment managers.

Types of Funds

Types of Funds

There are various types of funds at the Hancock County Community Foundation. You can tailor your charitable legacy by choosing to establish one or more of these.

Community Enrichment

Community Enrichment Fund is the donor’s broadest option. A Community Enrichment Fund can reach out to all charitable organizations serving the arts, education, health, and human services. The Foundation funds those projects that best meet the community’s most pressing needs, even when those needs change over time. By making a gift or bequest to create a Community Enrichment Fund, a donor can create a living legacy that will grow and change as the community does.

A Community Enrichment Fund is best suited for the donor who:

  • wants his or her gift to have the broadest impact on the community over time.
  • is motivated to “give back” rather than to support a particular charitable organization.
  • is considering creating a private foundation for broad charitable purposes.
  • wants his or her gift to remain flexible to respond to changing community needs.

Donor Advised Fund

Powers FamilyDonor-Advised Funds allow donors to simplify and consolidate all their charitable giving without the expense, legal, and administrative burdens of running a private foundation. Donors who establish a Donor Advised Fund retain the right to recommend grants to charitable agencies. The donor gets a full charitable deduction in the year the fund is created and a single receipt for gifts to the fund rather than the many gifts to individual charities made from the fund. Donors can name other advisors to the fund. Staff can help identify effective projects in the donor’s areas of interest. Donor Advised Funds can support charities across the country.

 

 

A Donor-Advised Fund is best suited for a donor who:

  • wants flexibility to support different charities.
  • wants to involve a spouse, children, or associates in charitable giving.
  • currently makes cash gifts to charities but would benefit by giving appreciated property.
  • has an income that fluctuates, but who wants to maintain a steady level of charitable giving.

Field of Interest Fund

Field of interest fundField of Interest Funds allow donors to address a cause or issue of particular importance to them without being locked into naming specific charities. The donor names the purpose of the fund, such as arts, environment, or youth. The Foundation identifies projects that can most effectively accomplish that goal at any given time.

The Field of Interest Fund is most appropriate for the donor who:

  • has an interest in a charitable cause rather than specific organizations.
  • recognizes that charitable organizations change in mission.
  • is considering creating a private foundation to support a cause.

Designated Fund

Herb and Judy BrownA Designated Fund names a charity or charities to benefit from the fund. The donor has the assurance of knowing that the charity they choose will forever benefit from their support. However, if the organization ceases to exist, the Foundation’s Board will preserve a donor’s intent by redirecting the fund toward an agency with a similar mission.

The Designated Fund is ideal for the donor who:

  • wishes to support a particular charity but wants third-party oversight to ensure that principal is not invaded or that the gift is used as he or she specified.
  • wants to support several named charities through one substantial gift.
  • desires to make an endowed gift to a new, small, or struggling organization or a charity that does not have extensive investment management capability.

Scholarship Fund

A Scholarship Fund can be set up in the donor’s name so that deserving young people can obtain an education. A Scholarship Fund can be set up to make awards based on any of the following: schools, colleges or universities the student attends, fields of study, geographic area students are from, or other interests.

A Scholarship Fund is ideal for the donor who:

  • has strong ties to education.
  • wants to encourage students to select a certain area of study, college or university.
  • is passionate about providing educational opportunities for young or returning students.

Nonprofit Operating Fund

Nonprofit operating endowments (also referred to as Nonprofit Endowments) are established by nonprofit organizations to provide a perpetual stream of operating revenue to sustain their work for generations to come. Nonprofit operating endowments may also be established by donors who wish to specify a particular charitable organization as a recipient of their generosity.
Community foundations are ideal partners to non-profits in establishing and helping to build an Nonprofit Operating Endowment fund. Our staff will help a non-profit organization build a basic plan to grow their endowment fund, help make donor calls, and respond to inquiries. The Community Foundation’s staff and professional legal counsel will also provide support in securing gifts to any nonprofit endowment fund.

For more information about Nonprofit Operating Funds, click HERE.

HCCF Operating Endowment Fund

An Operating Endowment Fund is for donors who are interested in supporting the Hancock County Community Foundation so it will be available for all citizens forever. Like Agency Endowment Funds, an Operating Endowment Fund is kept in perpetuity to provide HCCF an ongoing stream of revenue generated by the investment of the principal of the fund.

Non-Permanent Fund

Non-Permanent funds, also known as Pass-Through Funds, are component funds of HCCF, but only temporarily.  Charitable gifts are made to a designated fund at the Foundation for redistribution when certain conditions, as defined in the fund agreement, are met.  Many times, funds of this nature are established for a community project or initiative to further a philanthropic cause, but lack charitable status to enable supporters’ tax benefit.  When appropriate, HCCF partners with these worthy organizations to enrich and enhance their efforts.  We ensure proper stewardship of donations on behalf of all parties, and donors enjoy tax benefit from their gifts.

In addition, HCCF may act as the Fiscal Sponsor of a non-501c3 organization doing charitable work until the organization can establish itself as a nonprofit charity.  Funds of this nature are considered by the HCCF Board on a case-by-case basis.

Services may include:

  • Accept gifts of cash, checks, credit cards, stocks, and real estate (forms of appreciated property) for the purpose of funding the project/organization
  • Provide a link located on  the organization’s website to the Foundation’s website for online donation purposes
  • Provide individualized acknowledgement letters for each gift received that includes receipt of charitable gift and eligible tax deduction
  • Provide year-end giving records to donors
  • Track pledges and send annual reminders of pledge commitments
  • Record gifts received and provide current fund status to the organization as needed, but no less than on a monthly basis
  • Provide organization with funds as requested
  • Feature efforts in HCCF publications, including newsletters, reports and on the website
  • Provide recognition of donors that they are receiving a tax-deductible contribution
  • Provide the peace of mind that donors enjoy when giving to a reputable, local, non-partisan organization known for managing and stewarding the generosity of community members for the purpose of enriching and enhancing life in Hancock County.

Fees for philanthropic administration services for non-permanent funds vary.

Establish a Fund

Establishing a Fund

How do I create an endowment fund through the Hancock County Community Foundation?

Creating a fund within the Hancock County Community Foundation is an easy process. By working with you individually, as well as your financial advisor, the staff at the Community Foundation is able to customize a fund to achieve your philanthropic goals. The Hancock County Community Foundation generally uses the following process when creating a new endowment fund.

  1. Meet with Foundation staff to discuss philanthropic goals.
  2. Determine organization, institution, or cause to benefit from the fund.
  3. Determine restrictions that may be placed on the fund’s income.
  4. HCCF will ensure that benefiting organization is qualified to receive grants according to IRS regulations.
  5. HCCF will draft an endowment fund agreement.
  6. Founder of fund will review the endowment fund agreement outlining purpose of the fund to assure that charitable desires are correctly defined.
  7. Founder of the fund will sign the fund agreement and make contribution to establish the fund ($1,000 minimum).
  8. The Hancock County Community Foundation Board will review and approve the fund agreement.
  9. Fund will be invested with Foundation’s endowment pool, increasing its earning power.
  10. When the fund balance reaches the fund minimum, assuming it has been invested for no less than one year, the fund may begin making grants from the generated income. The organization has the annual option to reinvest the income to help grow the fund.
  11. A fund statement will be sent on an annual basis showing all fund activity for the prior year.

The Hancock County Community Foundation offers the following services to assist you in growing your fund:

  1. Marketing materials and fund promotion documents
  2. Responding to inquiries from potential donors
  3. Meeting with major gift prospects
  4. Managing complicated gifts (real estate, stock, etc.)
  5. Acknowledging all gifts to the fund

Philanthropic Administrative Services

For more information click here.

Give Today


Give by Mail

Print a form to assist you in mailing in your donation.

Give by Credit Or Debit Card

Donate now with your credit card via our secure, encrypted web connection.

Give a Recurring Gift

Make regular contributions directly from your bank account or credit card by filling out and returning this form.

Give by IRA

Give by Stock

If you’d like to donate a gift of stock to a fund at the community foundation, please contact Marie Felver, V.P. of Finance and Operations at mfelver@giveHCgrowHC.org or 317-462-8870. Marie will then work with you or your financial advisor to complete the transfer.  A receipt for tax purposes will be mailed to you after the transfer is complete.

Give by Grain

A community’s needs are real. So is the desire to help. Find a way to connect the two, and you’ll find the spirit to enhance and enrich Hancock County for generations to come.

The Harvest for Hancock program is a charitable program for those in the field of agriculture who choose to use the donation of grain to grow permanent endowment funds benefiting Hancock County.

How it works

  • Ownership of grain is transferred to HCCF
  • Your donation of grain lessens the amount of inventory you report
  • The grain elevator will create an account and set up grain disposition instructions
  • When arriving at the elevator, submit proper documentation including HCCF’s information and the amount of grain to be donated

Click here to print a grain donation form.

Where to direct your gift

HCCF stewards a number of endowed funds that benefit organizations and scholarships supporting agricultural based programs and educational opportunities, including:

  • Agricultural Heritage Fund
  • AgrIInstitute Fund
  • Hancock County Enrichment Fund
  • Hancock County Ag Association Fund
  • Mary E. Carmichael Fund for the Future of Agriculture
  • Scott Family Agriculture Scholarship
  • Many Scholarships for 4-H Participants

Wish to gift to your church?

HCCF can handle the details on your behalf!


Give Tomorrow

What to Give How to Give Legacy Society
Planned Gift Examples Plan Your Will Planned Gift Calculator
News for Donors

For Advisors


Financial Advisors
 

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Hancock County Community Foundation
312 East Main Street
Greenfield, Indiana 46140

Phone 317-462-8870
Office Hours Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. - 4 p.m.
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