Simplify Your Giving with a Donor Advised Fund

A Donor Story: Dick and Anne Egan

Dick and Annie Egan have deep family roots in Door County. Annie grew up in Green Bay and Dick in De Pere. Both of their families became summer Door County residents in the 1950s. They married in 1963 after Dick graduated from Yale University and served as an officer aboard the aircraft carrier USS Hornet. Annie earned a bachelor’s degree from St. Norbert College in 1976 and a Master of Science Education from UW — Oshkosh in 1980. Annie also holds a Doctor of Ministry degree. Together, they raised three sons — Tim, Joe and Dan — and now have eight grandchildren.

Dick retired as Chairman and CEO of Little Rapids Corporation in 1994 and he and Annie moved full-time to Sister Bay in 1995. They eventually relocated to the warm waters of Clark Lake.

The Egans considered creating their own private foundation, but their estate planning attorney suggested that working with a community foundation was a better option. So, they created the Anne and Richard Egan Charitable Fund, a Donor Advised Fund at the Door County Community Foundation, Inc.

Donor Advised Funds operate much like a private foundation, but without the administrative burdens, high operating costs or required tax filings. Donor Advised Funds are convenient, flexible tools for individuals, families, businesses, or groups that want to be personally involved in suggesting grant awards made possible by their gifts. If you have a range of community interests, you may find that it’s an ideal vehicle for fulfilling your charitable wishes.

“We spend part of the year in Milwaukee. Working with the Community Foundation helps us stay connected to the charities and causes that are important to us. If we have questions about an organization or want to hear about the most innovative things going on in Door County, the Community Foundation’s professional staff is always there to help.”

– Dick and Anne Egan

A Simple, Inexpensive and Highly Tax Efficient Way to Give.

Donor Advised Funds are convenient, flexible tools for individuals, families, businesses, or groups that want to be personally involved in suggesting grant awards made possible by their gifts. If you have a range of community interests, you may find that it’s an ideal vehicle for fulfilling your charitable wishes. Donor Advised Funds are typically less costly and easier to administer than other forms of philanthropic giving (such as family or corporate foundations).

Your gift can be combined with others to increase its impact, and you can add to the Fund you establish at any time, receiving tax benefits with each new gift. You can establish a Fund today and make grant recommendations now or in the future.

Creating a Donor Advised Fund is easy.

• You make a gift to the Door County Community Foundation – you can give cash, appreciated stock, real estate, or other assets. A minimum gift of $1,000 is all it takes to open your own personal Donor Advised Fund.
• We set up a special Fund in your name, in the name of your family or business, or in honor of any person or organization you choose.
• You receive a tax deduction in the tax year your gift is made. That makes a Donor Advised Fund a great tool for bunching your charitable giving.
• You suggest charities that should receive distributions from your Fund – working with our professional staff to support the causes and organizations you care about most.
• If a gift to your Fund is incorporated into your estate plans, you can designate your heirs to be “successor advisors” to the Fund.
• We handle all the administrative details and issue grants to charities in the name of the Fund you establish (if you prefer, grants can be made anonymously).

And while we may be the Door County Community Foundation, our family of donors have favorite charities across the nation. As a result, we make distributions to charities in virtually every state in the union.

Donor Advised Funds are particularly effective as an estate planning tool. Rather than naming multiple charities are beneficiaries of your estate, your retirement account, or other assets – you simply designate your Donor Advised Fund at the Door County Community Foundation, Inc. as the charitable beneficiary. Then the Community Foundation distributes your estate gift to the charities or causes you care about the most.

If you so choose, your Donor Advised Fund can made into an endowment. Your gift – and all future earnings from your gift – then become a permanent source of community capital, giving back in your family’s name literally forever.

Learn more about using a Donor Advised Fund as a tax planning tool for bunching several years of charitable gifts into a single tax year.

Download an information sheet about Donor Advised Funds.

Then contact the Door County Community Foundation to learn more, or speak with your accountant, attorney or investment advisor today.