Lean on us: Five reasons to call the community foundation
Written by Clark Collier, CAP(R), CICF Director of Giving Strategies, and Robin Elmerick, CICF Senior Director of Effective Philanthropy
In an economic and legislative environment full of unpredictability, we encourage you to tap the knowledgeable team at the CICF Collaborative (which includes Central Indiana Community Foundation, Hamilton County Community Foundation, IMPACT Central Indiana, the Indianapolis Foundation, and Women’s Fund of Central Indiana).
If you’ve already established a donor-advised or other type of fund at an entity within the CICF Collaborative, you’re familiar with many of the ways we make charitable giving easy, flexible, and effective so that you can achieve your goals for improving the quality of life in our community as well as fulfilling your own estate planning and financial objectives.
Not quite sure when to reach out to the CICF Collaborative? If any of these situations applies to you, we invite you to contact us.
You promised yourself in 2024 that you’ll never again get caught in a year-end crunch.
The last few months of the year are always hectic with holiday activities. When you layer on the added stress of tax planning and completing the charitable giving plans you set back in January, you might tip the scales from hectic to chaos! The CICF Collaborative can help organize your year-end charitable giving early so that it achieves both your financial and your philanthropic goals.
You’re concerned about recent drops in funding to local charities, but you’re not quite sure about what you can do to help.
The CICF Collaborative is Central Indiana’s home for charitable giving. That means we’ve got a finger on the pulse of our community’s needs and the nonprofits that are addressing them. Our team can provide information about program cuts that have left people in our community vulnerable and share ideas and recommendations for how you can help fill the gaps.
Your tax advisor has suggested that 2025 is an important year to increase your charitable donations
For the small percentage of people who itemize deductions on their individual income tax returns, 2025 may present opportunities. The CICF Collaborative is happy to work with you and your tax advisors to structure gifts to your donor-advised or other type of fund at an entity within the CICF Collaborative to ensure that you’re leveraging tax advantages while also maintaining consistent support year after year for the causes you care about.
You’re thinking about selling commercial property or private business interests and you’ve heard that charitable gifts can be an effective component of the transaction if structured correctly.
Many people do not realize until it’s too late that they can give real estate or closely-held stock to your donor-advised fund well in advance of a future sale and achieve significant tax benefits while also setting aside charitable dollars to make a positive difference in the community either immediately or across generations. Before you and your advisors put any pen to paper on the disposition of real estate or private business interests, please reach out!
You’re updating your estate plan and want to leave money to charity, but you’re not exactly sure what charity.
Please reach out to the CICF Collaborative anytime you are updating your estate plan or related financial documents, such as beneficiary designations on IRAs, life insurance policies, or retirement accounts. Our team is happy to work with your advisors to deploy the CICF Collaborative’s flexible tools to round out your estate plan and make sure you’re exploring the tax benefits of using various types of assets to fund your charitable intentions.
Whatever your charitable giving situation, we are here for you!
About the CICF Collaborative
CICF Collaborative is a partnership of philanthropic organizations working together to strengthen communities across the region. Each entity within the CICF Collaborative (including the cornerstone entities, Central Indiana Community Foundation, Hamilton County Community Foundation, IMPACT Central Indiana, the Indianapolis Foundation, and Women’s Fund of Central Indiana) brings deep knowledge, strong relationships, and its own individual, focused mission. The CICF Collaborative unities the entities by providing shared services, allowing the entities to operate more efficiently and effectively. By leveraging what we each do best, we’re able to better serve our communities and create more lasting impact, together. Learn more »
About the Authors
Clark Collier is CICF’s director of giving strategies, working with individuals, families, and their advisors to structure meaningful and impactful philanthropy. As a Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy (R), Clark provides gift planning support and counsel to the CICF Collaborative and nonprofit organizations throughout the region. He previously served as a philanthropic advisor for CICF and in development roles for both local and global organizations.
Robin Elmerick, senior director of effective philanthropy has been with CICF since 2019. A certified Impact Philanthropy Advisor, she works closely with fundholders across all entities of the CICF Collaborative to help them define their philanthropic strategies and maximize their impact. With a background in nonprofit leadership and consulting, she is passionate about bridging the needs of the community with the missions of nonprofits and the passions of our fundholders, aligning all three to create meaningful change in Central Indiana and beyond.