As a Corporate Leader, here is how you can benefit

from a Corporate Charitable Fund:

Charitable Giving becomes comfortable, convenient, and cost-effective once again. In an era of ever-lengthening lines of charitable solicitors, corporate charity has become an expensive proposition.  It takes time to hear requests, it takes time to review these requests and evaluate the organizations, and after the decisions are made, it takes time to write the checks and do the bookkeeping.

With an Advised Fund at the Winona Community Foundation, there is only one check — or only one gift of stock — to the Foundation, not many to multiple charities. One gift takes care of the corporate tax deduction and establishes or increases a fund from which grants may be made for years to come.

In our community, corporations are called upon to give every year — not just in the profitable ones. Wouldn’t it be nice to set aside charitable funds in the “good” years and be able to use them to continue giving in years which may be less profitable? With an Advised Fund for your firm or company, you can set aside money when it makes sense for tax planning purposes and spread out the grants over time. The Foundation owns and invests the funds in a diversified portfolio from which grants are made based on your written recommendations.

Using the Winona Community Foundation can increase profits. You can “Do Well By Doing Good.” Through working with the Winona Community Foundation, businesses can cut costs and increase the scope and effectiveness of your giving. Instead of highly-compensated, busy corporate officers fielding and evaluating requests, you can “outsource” the administrative aspects to the Foundation. "We do all our giving through the Winona Community Foundation" can become an increasingly common response. The message signals that the non-profits will be courteously received, be given information on the corporation’s charitable priorities, experience fair and full evaluation of proposals, and be clearly informed about grant decisions. Corporate officers recommend projects for grants, receive summary reviews of proposals, and, if desired, solicit advice from the Foundation’s knowledgeable staff.

The bottom line. A corporate charitable fund is a win-win-win opportunity: you are freed up to earn the most you can, the Foundation fulfills its mission of promoting and facilitating philanthropy, and, through cost-effective administration, more money than ever gets to the charities and individuals who need it.