Giving to Others Gives us Lots of Reasons to Smile

The Community Foundation is honored to serve at the center of your philanthropy. Whether you’ve established a donor-advised or other type of fund, arranged for a bequest to a fund or to the Community Foundation itself, or both, our team strives to help you organize your giving to make it easy and convenient. If you’ve not yet established a fund or arranged for a bequest but are considering it, we look forward to continuing the conversation! 
 
Charitable giving is important not only locally and nationally, but also internationally. Indeed, the World Giving Index 2024 Global Trends in Generosity reports that 4.3 billion people worldwide helped someone they didn’t know, volunteered time, or donated money to a good cause in the preceding month. 
 
It’s no surprise that research indicates that giving to others actually puts donors in a good mood. This is especially the case, studies show, in three ways:

• The act of giving feels good in the moment
• People like having choices about their giving
• People like to see the results of their giving

 
We know this intuitively based on our own experiences. For instance, many of us enjoy picking out a birthday gift for a friend or family member and watching them open it. 
 
The same good feelings translate to charitable giving. People enjoy working with the Community Foundation. Certainly one reason is because the Community Foundation activates the research’s 3 key factors:

• Feels good in the moment. The Community Foundation makes it easy to give cash, stock, or other assets to a type of fund that is the best fit for you, whether that’s a donor-advised fund, designated fund, field-of-interest fund, or unrestricted endowment fund. When you initiate the stock transfer, for example, it’s fun because the Community Foundation makes it easy. You know immediately that you’ve taken meaningful action.

 

• Offers choices. The Community Foundation’s tools are flexible to meet your charitable giving goals. We can help you set up an annual giving strategy, establish a bequest to your fund in your estate plan, and everything in between. Most of all, we want to help you support the causes that are most important to you, whether those are particular charities or broader areas of community need. 

 

• Shows results. The Community Foundation has its finger on the pulse of our region’s priorities and how charitable giving can improve quality of life for everyone. Every day, we work with you and other families, individuals, and businesses to help you not only make a difference, but also actually see the difference you are making. From research and hands-on site visits, to networking with other donors and meeting with community leaders, our team will provide a wide range of opportunities for you to see first hand the results of your philanthropy. 

 
We look forward to helping you incorporate charitable giving into your life in ways that help the community and make you happy! 
 
The team at the Community Foundation is honored to serve as a resource and sounding board as you build your charitable plans and pursue your philanthropic objectives for making a difference in the community. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not intended as legal, accounting, or financial planning advice. Please consult your tax or legal advisor to learn how this information might apply to your own situation.