GRAYS HARBOR COMMUNITY FOUNDATION

WAYS YOU CAN GIVE

We work with donors from all walks of life who want to create unique funds to improve the communities they care about.  Whatever your passion is -- art, education, serving the poor, improving our neighborhoods, preserving our history -- we can offer you a simple and effective way to give back to Grays Harbor.

FIRST STEPS 

1. CLARIFY YOUR CHARITABLE GOALS

The first step is to define and clarify what you want to do.  Do you want to...

• Help support the broad needs of our community? 

• Create a fund to meet a specific need or benefit a specific charity? 

• Become more involved with philanthropy? 

• Establish a new scholarship? 

Your ideas don't have to match what others have already done.  If your long-term charitable goals are primarily centered in the local community, there's a good chance that using our community foundation will help simplify your plans.

2. REVIEW THE BASIC FUND TYPES

The Grays Harbor Community Foundation offers five basic types of charitable gift funds. 

• UNRESTRICTED FUNDS allow our community foundation's board of directors to support the broad needs of local communities.  A gift to The Fund for Grays Harbor or another fund of this type will support our core mission by expanding our community grants program. 

• AREA OF INTEREST FUNDS help expand our community grants program within a specific area of need.  A gift to our Arts & Culture Fund, for instance, will support only those projects and programs which support Grays Harbor's arts and cultural events and institutions.  As always, you can either give to an existing fund or create and name a new fund.

• DESIGNATED FUNDS enable interested donors to support a specific need, provide endowment support to one or more specific local nonprofit organizations, or create a new program to support a specific local cause.

• DONOR ADVISED FUNDS allow donors who want to get and stay involved in local philanthropy to do so in an easy, efficient, and affordable way.  We keep our donor advisors informed of local giving opportunities while allowing them to recommend grants to specific organizations.

• SCHOLARSHIP FUNDS can be designed to fit into our Twin Harbors-wide scholarship program, or they can be custom designed to match your specific goals, whether you want to support graduates of a particular high school, students attending your alma mater, or students pursuing a particular course of study.

If none of these fund types seems to fit what you have in mind, you can custom design a fund to meet your individual interests.  In fact, some donors may establish multiple funds to meet multiple goals.

3. CHOOSE HOW YOU WANT TO GIVE

If you plan to make a major gift, we recommend you work with your accountant, attorney, or other financial advisor to determine what assets make the most sense for you to give.  Few people are motivated to give because of the tax deduction, but the simplicity of giving through a community foundation affords an excellent opportunity to maximize your charitable tax benefits. 

We accept a wide variety of charitable assets, from gifts of cash or stocks to gifts of real property and land.  You can view the complete list in our Gift Acceptance Policy. 

Giving now may not be your best option.  Some may only be able to give through their wills.  Others may benefit from creating a Charitable Remainder Trust or other form of planned giving. 

4. CONTACT US

Whether it's your first step or your last, we'd like to meet with you to discuss your plans and learn about your dreams for Grays Harbor.  Even if you simply plan to name the community foundation in your will, we'd like to hear what your hopes and wishes are.  We would also enjoy the opportunity to meet you.  Please feel free to contact us at any time.

SPECIFIC TOPICS

To learn more about another topic, please follow its link:

• Giving to an existing fund

• Establishing a new fund

   

• What is the Arts & Culture Fund?

• What is the Youth & Families Fund?

• Learn more about unrestricted funds

• Learn more about area of interest funds

• Learn more about designated funds

• Learn more about donor advised funds

• Learn more about scholarship funds

Grays Harbor Community Foundation is a tax-exempt public charity dedicated to serving the broad needs of Grays Harbor County in Washington State.  We are a member of the Council on Foundations; we have committed ourselves to the National Standards for U.S. community foundations; we are audited annually; and we consider ourselves accountable to the public upon whom we depend for support.