CFNEM BlogSpot

Gift to the Community Foundation for Northeast Michigan…$200.

Cash back in your pocket at tax time…$100.

Possible federal deduction on your taxes…depends on your tax bracket.

Total cost for your gift…at least ½ what you originally gave.

Knowing you’ve made a real, positive difference for your community…PRICELESS.

(Thank you MasterCard – which you can use to make a gift online by the way! www.cfnem.org)

There’s a reason our mailbox is so full during the last month of the year – people care, and it’s the end of the tax year.  Through the Michigan Community Foundation Tax Credit, you can make a gift to CFNEM for twice the amount you’ll actually end up spending.  If you’re married you can get up to $200 back at tax time on a $400 gift.  If you’re single, you get up to $100 back on a $200 gift.  If you itemize on your federal tax return, the actual cost of your gift is even less since you can claim a federal charitable deduction in addition to the Michigan tax credit.

It’s quite a deal when you consider that the gift is a permanent investment in your community, allowing for grants to our local nonprofits for all kinds of causes, or for scholarships to our local students.

It’s just one more reason why giving to your Community Foundation is a good idea, and we want to make sure you know about it.

Of course, our local nonprofits will always need volunteers, and they’ll always need money to help support them right now.  All of that makes a difference in our community.  It feels good to know your contribution can help right now, and that you can see your money at work.  There’s satisfaction in seeing your money help the causes you care about.  But what happens later?

There’s also great comfort in knowing that even when we’re gone, what we cared about so much during our lifetime will still be supported.  That’s where the Community Foundation comes in.  We’re here for the long haul.  Faces at our office will change; faces on our Board will change; our location may even change.  But CFNEM’s purpose will always remain the same: to make a difference in the community through the visions of our donors.

When a donor or a nonprofit itself establishes an Agency Endowment Fund, they are taking a step to ensure the future viability of that organization.  Regardless of what the economy looks like or how many other funding sources are available, the organization will have money – every year – to help them operate and sustain the great work they do for our community.

Donors can choose to give to an existing fund already working to help the organization, or new funds may be established.  What local nonprofit is close to your heart?