Give Now
You can start supporting your community today. Gifts we can accept now include:
Give Later
Giving through your estate plan enables you to maintain control of your assets during your lifetime, support our community, and possibly give more than you ever thought you could.
Give to an Existing Fund
Consider giving a gift to one of the 140+ funds already established by individuals, businesses, and organizations that want to build stronger communities. If you would like to give to an existing fund but are not sure which to choose, please contact us.
Establish a Fund
Make a lasting impact with your giving. As your partner in philanthropy, The Community Foundation makes it easy to realize your giving goals through a charitable fund. A simple fund agreement and an initial tax-deductible gift are all you need to create your personal giving vehicle. Our team can talk with you about the benefits of the various types of funds and answer any questions you may have.
Volunteer
Give of Your Time and Talents.
The Community Foundation does much of its work through our volunteer board and committees. Participation on committees is just one way to become involved with the Community Foundation.
BCCF selects board and committee members based on their ability to assist in accomplishing our mission. To be eligible for Board Membership, applicants must be annual BCCF donors and reside or work in our service area. We consider the diversity of experience, skills, and networks in choosing candidates and the expressed desire to help raise funds and leverage resources to serve our communities.
Gifts of cash are most popular for many people who make contributions to the Foundation. The cash gifts contributed each year funds at the Community Foundation grow and allow the Community Foundation to expand our support to the community through grants.
By Check:
Checks should be made payable to The Branch County Community Foundation. If the gift is for a specific fund, please write the fund name on the memo line or accompanying documentation. Please mail checks to:
The Branch County Community Foundation 2 W. Chicago Street, Suite E1 Coldwater, MI 49036
Online
Support the Forever Fund, The Branch County Community Foundation Leadership Fund, or any other fund held at BCCF today.
DONATE NOW
The Community Foundation gratefully accepts gifts of securities. If either public or private securities have appreciated over time, the owner may incur substantial capital gains taxes if the stock is sold outright. The donation of appreciated securities can offer the donor attractive income tax benefits, including relief from capital gains tax liability.
Gifts of real estate can include homes, condominiums, apartments, undeveloped land, farmland, and rental property. Such gifts may help the donor alleviate management costs and responsibilities if the property were held, and capital gains tax and broker’s fee if the property were sold. When you give gifts of real estate, the Community Foundation in turn sells the property, and — depending on the amount — contributes the proceeds to an existing fund of your choice or opens (or increases) your own fund with the income from the sale. You receive a charitable tax deduction equal to the fair market value of the property, and you pay no capital gains tax on the sale.
Outright Gifts
By making an outright gift of a piece of real estate, the donor avoids capital gains tax and receives a charitable income tax deduction.
Many people are surprised to learn that their life insurance policies can become a charitable gift. Life insurance is usually purchased to protect the family from financial loss due to the death and loss of income of one or more family members.
Normally, the need for life insurance protection lessens as an individual grows older. Children are grown, self-supporting, and through college; the mortgage has been paid; and an estate of other assets has been acquired. The insurance has served its original purposes, and can become a gift to the Community Foundation. The donor receives an immediate tax deduction (usually equal to the cash surrender value).
Outright Gifts
If the donor decides to relinquish ownership of the policy by assigning all rights, titles, and interest in the policy to the Community Foundation, the donor may be eligible for a charitable income tax deduction for the present value or future premium payments on the policy. If ownership of the policy is donated to the Community Foundation, even if ownership is retained by the donor, any proceeds received by the Community Foundation will be deductible by the insured estate as a charitable contribution, thus reducing the estate tax.
Donors can also contribute insurance even though the policy is not fully paid up. The donor can name the Community Foundation the beneficiary, continue to maintain the policy, and receive a charitable tax deduction for premiums paid to keep the policy in force.
If you are the age of 70 ½ , you can transfer up to $100,000 directly from your individual retirement account (IRS) to the Branch County Community Foundation tax-free. If you are 72 or older, this gift will count toward your required minimum distribution. DAF's are not qualified under this giving option.
The Branch County Community Foundation can accept gifts of grain and other commodities to local participating elevators to any fund held at the Branch County Community Foundation. These gifts allow the donor to maximize the tax benefits while supporting the causes they care most about. Donations can be directed to any fund, including our unrestricted endowment.
There is a Gifts of Grain Fund, which is a community partnership between the Branch County Community Foundation and the Branch County 4-H Foundation. This is a program in which grain or other commodity crops are gifted to benefit both the Branch County Community Foundation and the Branch County 4-H Foundation.
How to Complete Your Gift
Let the Community Foundation know of your intended gift of grain.
Deliver the grain along with a completed contribution form to one of the participating elevators listed.
At delivery, the elevator will transfer the grain gift to the Community Foundation. Upon transfer, the Community Foundation assumes the cost of storage, transportation, and marketing and bears any risk of loss.
The Foundation will receive the sale proceeds. Any sale invoice will name the Branch County Community Foundation as the seller of the grain.
Once the gift is processed, the Community Foundation will provide an acknowledgment letter to the producer to substantiate the gift.
The Community Foundation will split the proceeds equally with the Branch County 4-H Foundation.
Participating Elevators
The Andersons - Albion
26250 B Dr N
Albion, MI
(517) 626.9427
The Andersons - Reading
313 S Ann St
Reading, MI
(800) 332.8236
The Andersons - White Pigeon
13600 Anderson Rd
White Pigeon, MI
(269) 483.7691
Louis Dreyfus
7344 IN - 15
Claypool, IN
(574) 566.2100
Bunge Grain
4743 Co Rd 28
Waterloo, IN
(260) 837.2900
South Milford Grain Inc
1510 S 790 E South
Milford, IN
(260) 351-2421
If you wish to use an elevator that is not listed as a participating elevator, please contact the Branch County Community Foundation about adding to this ever-evolving list at 517.278.4517.
The Forever Fund is our one unrestricted fund. It fuels the Community Good Grants Program, which grants funds to qualifying nonprofit agencies in Branch County and Colon. The Forever Fund also creates locally controlled assets that can be used to meet current needs and prepare for emerging needs. As an unrestricted fund, the Forever Fund is the only fund where distributions aren’t restricted to a specific cause. Because of this, the Forever Fund can award grants for any project or program that improves the quality of life in Branch County, meaning it has a broad impact on our local communities.
Generous people like you have built The Forever Fund over generations, giving to secure a better future for everyone in Branch County and Colon. A donation of any amount to the Forever Fund helps the community. By joining us in this important initiative, you will become part of the Branch County Community Foundation family as we work together to build strong communities. Please consider making a gift to The Forever Fund today.
The Branch County Leadership Fund is an endowed fund that provides vital support for our work in the area of community leadership and collaboration. We believe collaboration with other organizations provides a better understanding of community issues, leading to better, more comprehensive solutions.
One of the best ways we’ve found to facilitate and/or join in this collaboration is through local and regional impact groups. These Collective Impact Groups, comprised of various community stakeholders, utilize the resources and expertise of multiple organizations to address specific areas of need, such as education, economic development, and mental health. The Branch County Leadership Fund supplies the resources needed to convene and/or participate in these groups, creating positive change in our community.
Current Collective Impact Groups include:
Branch County Great Start Collaborative Board a group of local professionals and parents working on solutions to provide access to childcare and making early childhood investments
Branch County Community Network community stakeholders from multiple sectors, working to understand how issues connect and to finding holistic solutions
Local Planning Body county-wide planning body that coordinates housing and services funding for homeless families and individuals
Coldwater Housing Commission focused on providing safe, affordable housing for our community
Reverse Scholarship Discovery Team a group of community stakeholders, focused on economic development strategies to attract and retain young adults and families to our area
Branch County Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence Task Force which provides emergency intervention to victims and works to break cycles of violence in our community
Community Betterment Projects projects that fall under this group are focused on making our community a better place to work, live, and play
Consider giving a gift to one of the 140+ funds already established by individuals, businesses, and organizations that want to build stronger communities. If you would like to give to an existing fund but are not sure which to choose, please contact the Community Foundation. We are happy to share an updated list of funds and can help find a fund that aligns with your charitable goals.
A charitable bequest to the Branch County Community Foundation enables you to retain control over your assets during your lifetime and support the community you love later. A charitable bequest can be a specific dollar amount, a percentage of your estate, or what remains after other bequests are made.
Naming Branch County Community Foundation as a beneficiary of your retirement plan or life insurance policy is not only easy to do, it is also a way to make a significant and lasting gift to our community that may not be possible during your lifetime.
A Charitable Lead Trust enables you to make significant charitable gifts now while transferring substantial assets to beneficiaries later. A trust is set up from which the Community Foundation receives annual payments for your life or for a specific number of years. These funds may be used to support nonprofits you choose or be added to an Advised Fund. When the trust terminates, the principal is returned to you or distributed to others you designate. The trust assets pass to the recipients at reduced tax cost—sometimes even tax-free.
A charitable remainder trust offers you a great deal of flexibility. Payments may be made to you or another beneficiary for life, or a specified number of years. The income beneficiaries annually receive an amount equal to a fixed percentage of the trust's fair market value, or a fixed dollar amount. A charitable remainder trust may be set up during your lifetime or through your will. The eventual distribution to the Community Foundation will only take effect upon the death of the trust's income beneficiaries, or at the end of the specified number of years. At this time, the remainder of the trust transfers to the Community Foundation to support your charitable giving goals.
Retained Life Estates
You can turn your property's value into community good by making a gift of real estate to the Branch County Community Foundation. You can continue to live in and fully enjoy your home (or vacation property) as long as you like while giving the future ownership of it to the Community Foundation. This is called a Retained Life Estate. The gift of the "remainder interest" is a charitable contribution in the year the gift arrangement is made, which may result in a substantial income tax charitable deduction. When the life tenancy terminates, the Community Foundation becomes the owner of the property. The proceeds of the property's sale may be used to establish a fund at the Community Foundation, or add to an existing fund.
Trusts
If real estate is used to fund a charitable remainder unitrust or a charitable lead trust, a donor typically avoids the capital gains tax liability on the transfer of the asset to the trust.
Bequests
If a donor leaves real property to the Community Foundation by will, estate taxes are substantially reduced as the property is removed from the taxable estate.
Retained Life Estates - Making an irrevocable donation of real estate while retaining the right to use the property often results in the immediate benefit of a substantial tax deduction. The income tax deduction can mean significant tax savings in the year of the gift and may be carried forward for up to five additional years.
Legacy Society members have provided an estate gift in their wills or trusts, or have named the Branch County Community Foundation as the beneficiary of their 401K, IRA, and life insurance policy. Donors can also establish a planned gift that returns income to them during life!
Joining the Legacy Society is simple:
1) Arrange your estate to leave a gift to the Community Foundation
2) Let the Community Foundation know you have made the necessary arrangements
We encourage you to discuss the intent of your gift with the Community Foundation to ensure we best comply with your wishes.
When you establish an unrestricted fund with Branch County Community Foundation, your gift will be used to address significant challenges and opportunities in the community. Each year, our program experts determine where grants from these funds can have the largest impact. As community needs change, so will the projects your fund supports. The community foundation evaluates all aspects of community wellbeing: arts and culture, economic development, education, environment, health and human services, neighborhood revitalization and more. The flexibility of your unrestricted gift allows the community foundation to respond to the community’s most pressing needs, today and tomorrow.
A donor advised fund through Branch County Community Foundation provides a simple, flexible and tax-efficient way to streamline your charitable giving. You make a gift to establish the fund and then remain actively involved in suggesting grants from the fund to the nonprofit organizations you wish to support. The ease of use and potential tax advantages make donor advised funds the fastest growing charitable giving vehicle in the nation.
A donor advised fund through Branch County Community Foundation provides a simple, flexible and tax-efficient way to streamline your corporate giving. The company makes a gift to establish the fund and then remains actively involved in suggesting grants from the fund to nonprofit organizations. The ease of use and potential tax advantages make donor advised funds the fastest-growing charitable giving vehicle in the nation.
By establishing a field of interest fund with Branch County Community Foundation, you can target your gift to address needs in a specific area of community life that matters most to you: arts, environment, children health. You choose. Our program experts award grants to nonprofits and programs that are making a difference in the area you select. Your gift stays flexible enough to meet community needs in your interest area—even if those needs change over time.
Establishing a designated fund with Branch County Community Foundation allows you to support the good work of your most valued nonprofit organization long-term. For the nonprofit, the fund creates a permanent income stream from which they can take annual distributions to support their mission or preserve the available dollars for a large expense in the future. Because it’s given through the community foundation, your gift provides the nonprofit not only funding but also planned giving support and investment management services.
Establishing a nonprofit agency endowment fund with Branch County Community Foundation is a simple and efficient way to create a source of permanent capital for your organization’s future. These funds offer a reliable, ongoing source of financial support. Your organization receives the added benefit of our expertise in helping you develop planned giving programs and facilitate complex gifts from your donors. We handle the investment management of the fund and all administrative details, including gift processing, record keeping, tax reporting and audits.
When a loved one dies, keeping their memory alive through memorial gifts is one way of honoring their life, finding comfort, and preserving their memory. The Branch County Community Foundation is honored to accept memorial contributions as a fitting tribute to those who have enriched our lives and our community. You can establish a new fund or have gifts directed to an existing fund, whichever is the most appropriate for your situation. It just takes one call to the Community Foundation, we want to keep the process simple, and will finalize the details when you are ready. To assure that we have a common understanding with the family and friends of the loved one of how memorial gifts are best used, the Community Foundation has developed this Memorial Gift Acceptance Policy and the Memorandum of Understanding and Memorial Gift Direction Form.
Through a scholarship fund with Branch County Community Foundation, you can invest in the lives of students who are pursuing their dreams. The community foundation provides the expertise to help you meet your personal goals and awards scholarships to deserving students who meet the criteria that you are able to help set. Your gift can help students at all ages and stages pursue education and open new doors to success.
Ways to Give
Open a Fund
Interested in starting a fund? Please complete the contact form to get in touch with our team, or call 517.278.4517.
We strive to make giving easy, so you can focus on making an impact. To that end, we accept a wide variety of gifts, from online credit cards to complex assets. We are a 501(c)(3), so all gifts to The Branch County Community Foundation are eligible for the full charitable deduction. Whichever option you choose, your gift will help make Colon and Branch County places we all love to live.
Gift and fund acceptance policies are available upon request by contacting us at 517-278-4517 or info@brcofoundation.org.