Giving and Happiness

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Can money buy us happiness? I think most of us would say no. But what about gifts to others? At the Community Foundation, we believe that giving not only strengthens and improves our community but giving to others makes us happy. We see it everyday as we work with donors to make their philanthropic goals a reality. Michael Norton, Associate Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School has researched this phenomenon and agrees. According to Dr Norton, spending on others makes us think differently about our money and ultimately makes us happier. Check out his recent story on the TED Radio Hour on NPR:


So if giving makes us happy, can we take that a step farther and say that local giving has a two-fold benefit for our community: 1) it provides much needed funding for services and other community improvements and 2) community members are happier in general. I don’t know about you but I think a happier community is a better community.

Not sure where to give or how to give? The Community Foundation of Harrisonburg & Rockingham can help. We offer many ways to give back to your community no matter the dollar level. Check out our current Community Needs Listing where we have compiled a list of needs from our local nonprofit organizations. Please give us a call at 432-3863 if you would like more information on fulfilling a need in our community.

IMPACT Harrisonburg, a giving circle for professionals in the 20s, 30s, and 40s, provides a great way to give to others. Each member of the giving circle gives an amount based on age and collectively the group decides which local nonprofits will benefit. Not only do members benefit by giving their money to others but they are part of a collaborative effort that is making a difference in our community. Last year the group gave almost $15,000 to local nonprofit On The Road Collaborative to provide after school education and support for at-risk middle school children. Voting for a grant recipient for 2016 will start at the end of May. Don’t miss your chance to be a part of this exciting new group in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County. Here’s a link to more information on IMPACT.

Contact me at the Community Foundation with questions or if you would like additional information.

Melissa
[email protected]
432-3863

Community Foundation office closing early on Dec. 31

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The Community Foundation of Harrisonburg & Rockingham County will be closing its office early on Thursday, December 31, 2015. Our office hours for the remainder of 2015 are as follows:

Tuesday, December 29                 9:00AM – 5:00PM

Wednesday, December 30           9:00AM – 5:00PM

Thursday, December 31               9:00AM – Noon

Friday, January 1                          Closed

 

We appreciate your investment in our community and are most grateful for your support of our work during the past year. We look forward to working with you in 2016 as we ‘Dream. Share. Build. OUR COMMUNITY.’

President Signs IRA Qualified Charitable Distribution into Law

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On December 18, Congress passed the PATH Act, which renews and makes permanent the IRA Qualified Charitable Distribution provision of 2006.  This provision makes it easier for Americans to give to causes they care about and will help local charities strengthen their communities by allowing individuals to roll over up to $100,000 annually from an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) to charity without being federally taxed.

Click here to see the announcement from the Council on Foundations.

Millions of Americans continue to save pre-tax dollars in their IRAs. The law allows taxpayers 70 ½ and older to share their wealth by giving retirement savings directly to charity—and bypassing income tax.  (source: http://www.ici.org/research/stats/retirement/)

Annually, holders of traditional IRAs who are at least 70½ years old can make direct charitable transfers up to $100,000. Individuals may exclude the amount distributed directly to an eligible charity from their gross income. The Community Foundation of Harrisonburg & Rockingham County can help donors execute the transfers and choose from several charitable fund options for their gift.  Please note that Donor Advised Funds do not qualify for tax-free IRA transfers.

Some charitable fund options at The Community Foundation of Harrisonburg & Rockingham County that do qualify include:

Field of Interest Fund—Connecting personal values to high-impact opportunities.

IRA transfers to Field of Interest Funds allow donors to target gifts to causes important to them: arts, education, neighborhood revitalization, youth welfare and more.  The Community Foundation of Harrisonburg & Rockingham County awards grants to community organizations and programs addressing the donor’s specific interest area.

Designated Fund—Helping local organizations sustain and grow.

IRA transfers to Designated Funds allow donors to support the good work of a specific nonprofit organization—a senior center, museum or any qualifying nonprofit charitable organization.

The Community Endowment Fund – Meeting ever-changing community needs

IRA transfers to the Community Endowment for Harrisonburg & Rockingham County address a broad range of current and future needs. The Community Foundation asks local nonprofit to submit a description of their needs each year as part of the Community Needs Listing process.  Grants from the Community Endowment are awarded annually to nonprofits on this listing to help meet the needs of our community.

Call The Community Foundation of Harrisionburg & Rockingham today at (540) 432-3863 to find out more about the IRA Qualified Charitable Distribution and how it can benefit our community!

It’s not too late to earn Virginia State Tax Credits!

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It’s not too late to earn Virginia tax credits in 2015!!  The Virginia Education Improvement Scholarships Tax Credit Program is a way to support educational opportunities for local students and receive a 65% Virginia state tax credit on top of current state and federal charitable deductions. These state tax credits may be used in the tax year they are issued.

This program is similar to NAP credits but is for individual or business donors interested in supporting scholarships at private K-12 schools in Virginia. Donations provide scholarship funds to support students of families that meet financial need criteria. Donors may not specify a specific school or a specific student to support. The credits may not exceed the tax liability, but can be carried over for five succeeding years.

This year, the state has authorized up to $25 million in Education Improvement Tax Credits. The credits are readily available, but The Community Foundation must submit all preauthorization requests in order for donors to receive the tax credits for calendar year 2015 tax filings.  Authorization approval from VDOE must be granted before a taxpayer to can make a qualified donation. Please note that donation checks may not be written before authorization is received. 

The Community Foundation of Harrisonburg & Rockingham County is an approved scholarship foundation for the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE). The Community Foundation staff will be glad to help you work through the process and we can expedite application for these credits by sending forms electronically to the state. Program details can be found, along with the Preauthorization Form, on the VDOE website at http://www.doe.virginia.gov/school_finance/scholarships_tax_credits/.

Please contact Ann Siciliano at 540-432-3863 if you have questions regarding this program, or email a completed preauthorization form to [email protected] .

Year-End Deadlines

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2015 year-end deadlines are coming soon! December is one of the busiest months of the entire year for staff at The Community Foundation of Harrisonburg & Rockingham County. Please be sure to reference the following deadlines to be sure we provide you with the best service possible:

December 1 – Virginia Department of Education Preauthorization Request Forms must be submitted for the Education Improvement Scholarships Tax Credits Program. If you wish to take advantage of the opportunity for a 65% Virginia State tax credit offered through the VDOE tax credit program, please contact Ann Siciliano at 540-432-3863 with any questions.

December 11 – Grant Requests should be received by The Community Foundation to guarantee processing in 2015. If you wish to send a grant and have a Donor Central account, you should make your requests through Donor Central. Otherwise, please send a Grant Recommendations form to Revlan Hill at [email protected].

December 30 – Gifts of stock and mutual funds must be received by The Community Foundation by 2:00PM. If you have questions or need assistance regarding gifts of stock or mutual funds, please reference our Stock Transfer Instructions form or contact Revlan Hill.

December 31 – Gifts to The Community Foundation must be postmarked by this date or hand-delivered to the office by noon. Our office usually closes early on the last day of the year.

We appreciate your attention to our year-end deadlines. We will make every attempt to assist you in a timely manner and we appreciate your patience as we process a much higher volume of gifts and grant requests at the end of the calendar year.

Thank you for your generosity which benefits our community!