The Community Foundation of the Rappahannock River Region Newsletter Spring 2012 www.cfrrr.org
Foundation News
The Haven Fund Communities and developers working together with help from The Community Foundation – and local school children are the winners.
“The Community Foundation’s expertise in establishing a fund made it easy for Johnson Development to make a difference. We will undoubtedly see more of these partnerships between developers, local governments and The Community Foundation throughout the region,” said Jud Honaker, President of Silver Companies Commercial.
As a result of private/public/nonprofit partnership, the foundation recently made three grants totaling $12,500 that will let Fredericksburg City School teachers participate in nationally-recognized learning programs. The three grants awarded this spring will impact As a gift to the community, Johnson Development hundreds of students. Associates established a $250,000 charitable fund at the foundation when “The Haven” luxury apartments • $4,000 - The Hugh Mercer Elementary School at Celebrate Virginia South in Fredericksburg were Conservation Garden Project will expand to a year round, approved. The recent grants are the first to be made sustainable community gardening project that will offer from this fund, which was established in perpetuity ongoing opportunities for students and community and will continue to grow. continued page 6
Spotlight on Advisors Though they play a crucial role in bringing exceptionally generous gifts to our communities, professional advisors often modestly describe their role in helping connect donors to the Community Foundation as “being in the right place at the right time.” Two local attorneys exemplify how important professional advisors have been to the foundation’s mission to build a flourishing philanthropic community. continued page 6
Sue Williams
Paul Simpson
Grant Awards: Six-Month Retrospective Fund Grant Amount Grantee The Duff McDuff Green, Jr. Fund $ 6,705. Central Rappahannock Heritage Center $ 8,823. Chaplin Youth Center $ 11,000. Dahlgren Heritage Foundation $ 7,500. disAbility Resource Center of the Rappahannock $ 10,000. Fredericksburg Center for the Creative Arts Arts $ 12,500. Friends of the Rappahannock $ 9,310. King George Family YMCA $ 10,000. Meadowview Biological Research Station $ 5,000. St. George’s Episcopal Church $ 4,600. Stafford Junction The Hansen Family Fund $ 500. Bowling Green Volunteer Fire Department $ 500. Bowling Green Volunteer Rescue Squad, Inc. $ 250. St. Christopher’s School Foundation The Haven Make a Difference Fund $ 4,500. Hugh Mercer Elementary School $ 3,000. Lafayette Upper Elementary School $ 5,000. Walker-Grant Middle School Hospice Support Care Fund $ 9,878. Hospice Support Care Beth and Jay Jarrell $ 1,000. Fredericksburg Area Trail Management and User Endowment Group Fund for RF&P User Group Bike Walk Virginia Mary Wynn Richmond McDaniel Fund $ 1,000. The Presbyterian Church $ 500. Historic Fredericksburg Foundation, Inc (HFFI) $ 500. Fredericksburg Area Museum and Cultural Center $ 500. Garden Club of Virginia, Restoration Committee The David Morgan Fund $ 3,000. Fund for William and Mary $ 2,000. Episcopal Relief Development Fund $ 2,000. Fredericksburg Area HIV/AIDS Support Services $ 2,000. Fredericksburg Counseling Services $ 3,000. Friends of the Rappahannock $ 2,000. Greater Fredericksburg Habitat for Humanity $ 2,000. Hope House $ 2,000. Lloyd F. Moss Free Clinic $ 2,000. MICAH Ecumenical Services $ 2,000. Rappahannock Council Against Sexual Assault $ 2,000. Rappahannock Council on Domestic Violence $ 2,000. Safe Harbor Child Advocacy Center $ 2,000. Serenity House $ 3,000. Thurman Brisben Center $ 2,000. University of Maryland College Park Foundation The Robert Cullen O’Neill Memorial Fund $ 10,000. Dahlgren Heritage Foundation
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31 scholarships were approved at the Board of Governors April meeting, totaling $51,205 altogether. Fund
Grant Amount
Grantee
The PNC Community Endowment Fund $ 672. disAbility Resource Center The PNC Community Giving Fund $ 853. Smart Beginnings Rappahannock Area The Dulcie H. Potter Memorial Fund $ 500. American Red Cross $ 800. Compassionate International $ 500. Florida Oceanographic Society $ 269. Fredericksburg All Ages $ 500. Fredericksburg Area Food Bank $ 1,500. Fredericksburg Christian Schools $ 500. Germanna Community College Education Foundation $ 500. Habitat for Humanity $ 3,500. Lifepoint Church $ 500. Make A Wish Foundation $ 500. MICAH Ecumenical Ministries $ 500. Montpelier Foundation $ 500. Odyssey Montessori $ 1,000. History ellers Productions $ 500. Program for Teen Parents $ 500. SPCA of Fredericksburg $ 500. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital $ 500. To Write Love on Her Arms Trust for Public Education IV Fund $ 2,000. Battlefield Middle School $ 2,000. Battlefield Middle School $ 570. Courthouse Road Elementary School $ 2,000. Harrison Road Elementary School $ 1,357. Post Oak Middle School $ 1,838. Post Oak Middle School $ 1,480. Riverbend High School $ 2,000. Salem Elementary School $ 1,223. Spotsylvania County Schools $ 2,000. Spotsylvania High School $ 756. Thornburg Middle School $ 756. Thornburg Middle School The Ukrop’s Endowment Fund $ 1,000. Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation $ 1,500. Communities in Schools of Richmond $ 5,000. Fredericksburg Area Museum and Cultural Center $ 10,000. Friends of the Rappahannock Youth in Philanthropy Fund $ 2,000. disAbility Resource Center $ 500. Hope House $ 2,500. Rappahannock Council Against Sexual Assault $ 2,500. Safe Harbor Child Advocacy Center $ 2,500. Salvation Army Total $ 216,140.
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Community Enrichment Fund Grants to be Announced June 20th
Join the Women & Girls Fund A charitable investment in women and girls is an investment in a vibrant, healthy community for everyone. The Community Foundation’s Women & Girls Fund supports nonprofit programs and projects that help to insure that women and girls in our community are safe and healthy, educated and employed. Your donation today will help build the endowment fund to allow larger grants to be made in the future. Gifts are fully tax deductible as charitable contributions to the extent allowed by the law.
The Community Foundation will soon be awarding grants up to $20,000 to nonprofit programs that serve King George County. These grants come from the Community Enrichment Fund, created by the foundation’s Board of Governors in 2005. This unrestricted fund allows the foundation the flexibility to respond to changing community needs. In 2011 and 2012, the board decided to focus its community enrichment efforts in King George. Next year it is expected that grantmaking will be concentrated on another regional locality.
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The Community Foundation will announce the grant winners on June 20th. Grant awards will be decided with the advisement of a number of King George residents, who will draw on their own knowledge of the community in order to help inform the foundation’s decisions. Residents of King George are challenged to join this effort by donating additional money to the fund – to be used entirely for grantmaking. This is a unique opportunity to make a significant “give where you live” impact by matching your own charitable efforts with the full force of The Community Foundation’s philanthropy.
Last year, a grant from the Community Enrichment Fund supported the Ecology Club Watershed Project, a partnership between Friends of the Rappahannock, Virginia Cooperative Extension and King George County Schools. A second grant helped create a “teen room” at the King George Family YMCA. A third project, Building Healthy Teen Relationships – Dating Violence and Sexual Assault Prevention – is providing healthy relationship education for middle school age youth in a facilitated group setting. This third grant was given to a collaborative partnership lead by Rappahannock Area Office on Youth and including the King George County Department of Social Services, Department of Health and Court Service Unit, as well as Rappahannock Council on Domestic Violence, Rappahannock Council Against Sexual Assault and King George Family YMCA. For information on joining this effort by contributing to the Community Enrichment Fund, call or e-mail Lisa Biever, Program Officer, at 540.373.9292 or lisa.biever@cfrrr.org.
The vision behind this fund is simple – if one thousand women each pledge $1,000 The Community Foundation can build a $1 million endowment that will serve as a permanent asset to the region. Each year, Women and Girls Fund members have the opportunity to gather at a Live Ballot Grant Expo and meet representatives from the nonprofits who are seeking grants. Members actively choose who will receive grants from the dividends from the endowed fund. The Community Foundation is particularly grateful to Women & Girls Fund Charter Member Mary Jane O’Neill, who has underwritten many of the early grants while this fund is growing. To join the Women & Girls Fund visit The Community Foundation’s website at www.cfrrr.org or call 540.373.9292.
Community Foundation vs. Private Foundation
Establishing a fund with The Community Foundation has some distinct advantages over a private foundation.
The costs, ongoing administrative burdens, quarterly tax payments, mandatory pay-out rates and reduced tax benefits of private foundations often prompt individuals and families to search for an alternative. Establishing a named fund at The Community Foundation often meets the needs of donors more efficiently and effectively.
subject – money. Money determines how you live, how you support your family, how you will retire, how you are taxed and how you share with others. It also says a lot about how hard you have worked and how committed you are to making good decisions.
Establishing a fund with The Community Foundation has some distinct advantages over a private foundation. When we talk about these issues, we are discussing a very serious
We take the responsibility of your investment with us as an honor, and we continually work to ensure that donors are happy with fund service and how grants are distributed.
Things to Consider
Fund with Community Foundation
Create Private or Corporate Foundations
Organization
Established (1997)
Must establish
Tax Exempt
501(c)(3) Status
Must establish with IRS
Funds Required
$10,000 minimum
Experts recommend $10 million minimum
Selection of Grantees
Donor, family or his/her advisory committee recommends grantees
Donor specifies grantees
Tax Deductibility of gifts
a) Up to 50% of donor’s Adjusted Gross Income (30% with appreciated assets) b) Excess may be carried over for five years
Limited to 30% of donor’s AGI (20% with appreciated assets)
Federal approvals, restrictions and special taxes
a) Approved by IRS b) No payout requirement c ) No federal excise tax
a) Must receive IRS approval b) IRS requires 5% of assets to be paid out annually c) Fund is charged 2% federal excise tax on income unless strict requirements are met d) Greater incidence of IRS field audit
Legal documents for creation of, foundation designation of funds and grant awards
In place
Must create
Office
In place
May need to obtain
Staffing
In place
May need to obtain
Accounting
In place
Must obtain
Tax Return (state and federal)
Community Foundation prepares
Must prepare
Public Report
Report to public made annually
Must prepare reports for the general public
Knowledge of Potential Grantees
Community Foundation provides
Must develop
Grant Evaluation Process to Ensure Donor’s Intent Satisfied
In place
Must develop
Public Recognition for Donor
Fund may be named or anonymous
Must provide or rely on grantee organization
Director/Officer Liability Insurance
In place
Must obtain
Investment of Assets
Finance Committee oversees investment policies
Must establish policies and select investments
Organization Overhead
1%
Substantial costs; plus 2% federal excise tax on income
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The Haven Fund
Spotlight on Advisors
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members, to work in the garden and learn. It provides meaningful ways for students to learn mathematics, literacy and the sciences. • $3,000 - Children at Lafayette Upper Elementary School will participate in an after-school club at the Exploration Command Center at Sunshine Ballpark, one of three sites in the nation to host The JASON Project. The project, a subsidiary of the National Geographic Society, provides experience-based science curriculum, educational technology and accredited professional development opportunities to students and teachers. During the weekly visits to the command center, students will use hand-held devices to connect with oceanography scientists and researchers in real- or near-real time, virtually and physically.
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• $5,000 - A grant was awarded to Walker Grant Middle School to purchase digital hand-held tablets for use by 8th grade world geography students. The additional technology will enhance collaborative learning, foster student creativity and provide real world learning experience. Local developer and Celebrate Virginia South landowner Silver Companies facilitated the donation. “The establishment of this fund to support our public schools was looked upon very favorably by city council,” said Mayor Tom Tomzak. “We knew it would be correctly administered and have a long term impact through The Community Foundation.” “The things that exceptional teachers pay for out of their pockets or maybe only dream about – that’s what these grants can fund,” said Community Foundation Program Officer, Lisa Biever.
NTS Development Company set up the Trust for Public Education in the late 1990’s to benefit Spotsylvania County public school children. Whenever a lot sold at the gated golf community, a donation was made to the trust that provided funds for enrichment programs. In 2002, the trust moved its funds to The Community Foundation, realizing that they could achieve all the same charitable goals, while eliminating the work of managing such a fund.
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“NTS is pleased to help enrich the education opportunities for the children in Spotsylvania. The Community Foundation has made it much easier for us to maintain and grow this fund over the years,” said Ralph DeRosa, President, NTS Virginia Over the last 10 years, The Community Foundation has delivered $60,000 in direct grant funds to Spotsylvania County Schools through its Trust for Public Education fund.
King George attorney Susan S. Williams set up a charitable remainder unitrust many years ago for a caring local couple who directed that a portion of their estate benefit the L. E. Smoot Memorial Library in King George. When the couple passed, the library received an unexpected, sizeable gift from the estate and the library board created a fund at The Community Foundation. Recently, the library board was able to use a portion of the money from the fund to purchase land for the eagerly awaited library expansion project. Although people often set up charitable funds to achieve tax savings, “philanthropic intent is critical,” said Paul Simpson, an attorney with Hirschler Fleischer in Fredericksburg. Paul has helped many of his clients establish irrevocable trusts that provide them with ample income for their lifetimes – and sometimes for the lives of their children. The donors get immediate tax benefits. Then when the last beneficiary passes, the remaining funds are used to establish or support a charitable fund at The Community Foundation. “This gives the donors immediate tax benefits, ample funds for their lifetimes, but also assures that they will leave a legacy of helping others,” Paul said. Paul is a past president of the foundation’s Board of Governors. Sue served as a member of the Board of Governors for six years.
The Community Foundation Board of Governors 2011–2012
Welcome New Board Members Dori G. Eglevsky Owner MG Properties & Co. Keystone Coffee and Auto Spa
W. Richmond McDaniel President Bernard W. Mahon, Jr. President-Elect *Harry D. Dickinson, PhD, CPA Treasurer John F. McManus, Esq. Secretary Mona D. Albertine Past President E. Thomas Blalock II John H. Coker, Jr. DMD, MS, PC Bruce L. Davis Heather Bowers Foley, CPA R. Leigh Frackelton Jr., Esq. Cynthia Corbett Hoffman, Esq. Kelly G. Johnson V. Veronica Kelly, PhD Craig Andrew Max, JD/CPA, TEP Richelle D. Moore, Esq. Erik J. Muller Michael A. O’Malley *Mary Jane O’Neill *Reverend Donald J. Rooney Nicky Seay Neil S. Sullivan Janet S. Taczak *Keith L. Wampler, CPA Kenneth T. Whitescarver, III
Community Foundation of the Rappahannock River region 540.373.9292
John F. Fick III President and CEO J.F. Fick, Inc.
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 208 Fredericksburg, Virginia 22404-0208 Physical Address: Mill Race North 725 Jackson Street Suite 110 Fredericksburg, Virginia 22401
Lucy G. Harman President PC Goodloe & Sons, Inc.
Teri McNally Executive Director terimcnally@cfrrr.org Lisa Biever Program Officer lisa.biever@cfrrr.org Ditas Kaag, CPA Finance Officer ditas.kaag@cfrrr.org
Christine Repp Retired VP Marketing & Communications HDT Global
*We are grateful to these outgoing board members for their service to the Foundation and the communities we serve. 7
540.373.9292 www.cfrrr.org PO Box 208 Fredericksburg, Virginia 22404.0208 Community Foundation of the Rappahannock River Region Permit No 479
PAID
Nonprofit Organization US Postage
The Community Foundation is a non-profit organization that manages and distributes charitable giving in the Rappahannock River region. Our goal is to promote greater philanthropy by addressing the challenges faced by donors in a responsible and knowledgeable manner. We distinguish ourselves from other local charities by providing efficient and effective services to build a collection of permanent funds.