WAYS TO GIVE
Your financial support of the Women’s Fund is vital to our work. We welcome gifts of any size to support women and girls in our community.
Planned Giving
Corporate Giving
WHY GIVE?
Where woman thrive, whole communities thrive. Since 1995 the Women’s Fund has awarded more than $314,000 in grants to innovative programs that improve women’s health, insure their economic self-sufficiency, promote their safety, and enhance their lives. Despite these efforts, we have been able to fund only 40 percent of the requests we have received.
Your gift to the Women’s Fund will help us meet these unmet needs and extend our impact beyond grantmaking. We are committed to eliminating the root causes of problems affecting women and girls and creating true social change.
Make a gift to the Women’s Fund today and add your voice to these supporters of the Women’s Fund.
GIFTS TO CONSIDER
The Women’s Fund accepts a variety of gifts to best meet the charitable intentions of our donors.
- Cash: You can make an immediate gift or make a pledge to be paid over time. We offer the convenience of automatic bank withdrawal or contributions by credit card. Please submit our pledge form with your gift or you can give now by designating the Women's Fund on the "Make a Gift" page on the Community Foundation's secure website.
- Securities: Donate appreciated stock or bonds and avoid capital gains taxes. You may claim a charitable tax deduction for the securities’ current market value. Please call us before making this type of gift to insure that your gift is properly identified and acknowledged.
- Employer Matching Gifts: Many employers support philanthropy among their employees by matching their gifts, often quite generously. We are happy to work with you and your employer to meet the requirements of their program and maximize the power of your gift.
- Giving Circles: Have you ever considered joining with your friends or co-workers to improve the lives of women and girls in our community? That’s the idea behind Giving Circles. Members of your card club, Bunko group, book club or professional organization can pool their gifts together to make a larger impact on the needs of women and girls in the Fox Valley. Your gift can be used for grant collaboration, or to establish an endowment fund in the name of your group. Once the fund reaches $10,000, grants can be made in the name of your group - forever.
Establish a fund in your name with a gift of $10,000 or more. You may start your fund as a future fund with a minimum contribution of $1,000 and a plan to build the fund to $10,000 over time. Once the fund reaches $10,000, grants can be made in the name of the fund to agencies addressing women’s and girls’ issues. The Women’s Fund staff will help you determine which type of fund best suits your charitable goals. View a list of current funds here.
You have the opportunity to leave a legacy to our community through the Women’s Fund. Does your commitment to the women and girls of the Fox Valley extend beyond your ability to make a current cash gift? If so, please consider remembering the Women’s Fund in your estate gift plan. Gifts of any amount will help us create the social change necessary for women to flourish personally, economically and professionally.
- Bequest by Will: You can designate a gift or portion of your estate to the Women’s Fund and, in some cases, receive a substantial reduction in federal gift and estate taxes. Learn more.
- Charitable Gift Annuity: You can make a gift of cash or property to the Women’s Fund now, get immediate tax benefits and ensure that you or a loved one receive fixed quarterly or annual income payments for life. Learn more.
- Life Insurance: List the Women’s Fund as the sole or partial beneficiary of your life insurance. Or, you may make the Women’s Fund the owner and irrevocable beneficiary of your life insurance policy – you can either give a paid-up policy or continue to pay premiums. Please consult your financial advisor on the tax benefits of a gift of life insurance. Learn more.
- Retirement Plans: Name the Women’s Fund as a beneficiary of your IRA or employer sponsored plan.
- Charitable Remainder Trust: You can place cash or property in a trust that pays annual income to you (or another named beneficiary) for life. After your death, the remainder of the trust transfers to the Women’s Fund and is placed into a charitable fund you have selected. You receive income tax benefits the year you establish your trust. Learn more.
- Charitable Lead Trust: You can place cash or property into a trust that pays a fixed amount to the Women’s Fund for the number of years you select. Once this period ends, the assets held by the trust are transferred to the beneficiaries you name. In some cases, you receive a substantial reduction in federal gift and estate taxes. Learn more.
- Real Estate: As a supporting organization of the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region, the Women’s Fund is prepared to accept your gift of readily marketable real estate.
CORPORATE GIVING
Corporate support is vital to the success of the Women’s Fund. We appreciate the significant contributions of our event sponsors, grant collaborators and corporate donors and welcome additional support. Please contact us to discuss how your business can support the mission of the Women’s Fund.
- Event Sponsorship: Each year our Annual Event Luncheon attracts an audience of over 1,000 to hear dynamic, inspiring and informative speakers. Several sponsorship levels are available to fit your company’s needs. In addition, the Women’s Fund periodically has other events or programs that provide sponsorship opportunities for corporations. Please contact our office for more information.
- Grant Collaboration: The Women’s Fund currently holds one competitive grant cycle each year to grant earnings from our endowment fund. Since our first grants were awarded in 1997, we have been able to meet only 40 percent of the funding requests. We welcome corporate gifts to add to our granting pool to better meet the needs of area agencies serving women and girls.
- Establish a Fund: Establish a fund in the name of your company with a gift of $10,000 or more. You may start your fund as a future fund with a minimum contribution of $1,000 and a plan to build the fund to $10,000 over time. Once the fund reaches $10,000, grants can be made in the name of the fund to agencies addressing women’s and girls’ issues. The Women’s Fund staff will help you determine which type of fund best suits your charitable goals.
- In-kind Gifts: We welcome gifts of products or services that help us fulfill our mission.
- Partnerships: Lasting social change can only be achieved through collaborative efforts. The Women’s Fund is currently working on two social change initiatives: Financial Fluency and Violence Prevention. Please contact us if your company would like to collaborate on these initiatives or if you would like to discuss other social change opportunities.
Volunteers are vital to our work. If you would like more information about how you can use your talents to support the Women’s Fund, please contact us. To learn more about volunteer opportunities at non-profits that provide direct services to women and girls, please contact the Volunteer Center of East Central Wisconsin.
