donoradv

THE WESTFIELD FOUNDATION

E-mail to:foundation@westfieldnj.com

DONOR ADVISED FUNDS

When you create a Donor-Advised Fund in the Westfield Foundation, you carry out and perpetuate your charitable giving in perhaps the most efficient and rewarding way possible. Your gifts, through a Donor-Advised Fund, can make a difference in our community today and into the future.
Not only is a Donor-Advised Fund a very efficient and effective way to make the most of your charitable giving, it also has numerous other benefits. With a Westfield Foundation Donor-Advised Fund, both giving and keeping track of your giving for tax and legal purposes are easy.

Effectively time and lock-in your charitable contributions and deduction.
You may claim an income tax deduction at the time of the gift to your Donor-Advised Fund (including the full fair market value of appreciated securities), and if necessary, you may carry the deductions forward over the next five years. You may then suggest charitable grant distributions for the Fund in the months and years ahead.

Administer your charitable giving efficiently.
We will handle disbursements, mail checks to recipient organizations, and send you periodic reports. A Donor-Advised Fund eliminates the need to obtain a receipt for each of your gifts to individual charities. You do not need to obtain receipts for grant distributions from the Fund, since your tax deductible gift is acknowledged immediately upon contribution to the Fund. We will send you acknowledgments when you make additional gifts to the Fund. These receipts fully meet the gift substantiation rules and regulations of the IRS.

Protect your charitable giving from capital gains taxation.
Charitable gifts of appreciated property are untaxed. Moreover, such gifts are deductible from income at the current fair market value at the time of giving.

    You may establish a Donor-Advised Fund in the Westfield Foundation with a gift of $5,000 or more. There is no cost to establish the Fund. You select the name of the Fund. Many donors choose their own names; others decide to honor or memorialize a loved one through the selection of the name of the Fund. If you would prefer to remain anonymous, your request will be honored.
    The Fund is established by written agreement between the donor(s) and the Westfield Foundation. Under the agreement, the Fund assets are held and administered by the Westfield Foundation. The donor or person(s) chosen by the donor serves in an advisory capacity to the Fund and makes recommendations regarding distribution of the Fund for charitable purposes.
    Donor-Advisors may suggest specific grants at any time. To start the grant process, simply send us your grant suggestion in writing. Please note that we use the word "suggest" because U. S. Treasury regulations require that the Foundation’s board of trustees retains final discretion over the grants made from each fund. In order to preserve the tax-exempt status of the Fund, and to protect the tax benefits afforded to each donor, the Westfield Foundation cannot be bound by the donor’s advice. In other words, this stipulation is necessary for you to receive a full tax deduction. The law expects that all funds will be distributed in accordance with the charitable purposes of the Foundation.   Most donors find that their interests are fully accommodated.
    Grants from the Foundation are paid to organizations recognized by the IRS as tax-exempt charities. Although our main focus is the Westfield area, grants may also be made to charitable organizations located elsewhere in New Jersey and throughout the United States. While by law we cannot fulfill pledges of financial support you have already made in your own
name (nor can any other foundation), we can make a pledge of future support from the Fund you establish, and you may want to suggest this to us. Such a pledge, of course, would be limited to remain anonymous. Please let us know when this is your preference.
    When we receive your grant suggestion, we will send you an acknowledgement. We will conduct an independent investigation of every proposed grantee to make sure that it meets U. S. Treasury guidelines.   Once we have made that determination, the request will be brought to the board of trustees for their approval at their next regularly scheduled, quarterly meeting.
    To keep you fully informed, on the state of your fund and who is benefiting from your gifts, the Westfield Foundation will report to you quarterly on the status of your fund. Each report will include all information you need to follow your fund: the balance at the beginning of the period; activity, including accrued net income and appreciation; additions to the Fund; grants paid out; and the ending balance.

Create your legacy of giving.     By creating a Westfield Foundation Donor-Advised Fund, you make it possible to leave a permanent legacy for your philanthropic interest. Upon the death of the last surviving advisor, the fund will continue as a permanently named endowment. This allows you to build a lasting legacy and to perpetuate the name you select for the Fund.
    We encourage you to leave the fund as flexible as possible to meet the changing needs of our area in the years ahead. If you wish, you may suggest future charitable recipients or areas of interest to benefit from the fund, thereby continuing your charitable objectives in perpetuity. If the purpose for which the Fund was established become impossible or impractical to carry out, the Westfield Foundation’s board of trustees will see that the Fund addresses closely allied community concerns and opportunities.
    To add to a Fund by bequest, simply name the Fund as one of the recipients of your will or trust. You may also create new memorial Funds named for your family, or in honor of a relative or friend.

Establish your fund today. To establish your Donor-Advised Fund, simply call the Foundation office at 908-233-9787. We would like to work with you to establish your legacy of giving – your Donor-Advised Fund.