Cash
Cash, usually in the form of a check, is an easy and convenient way for you to support worthy causes in the community.
Cash gifts enable you as a donor to claim a current tax deduction of up to 50% of your adjusted gross income in any one year when you itemize deductions, with the excess, carried forward for an additional five years.
To donate cash to MCF, you can either send a check or initiate a wire transfer. You can also make a secure online credit card through this website (see below).
To give by check: Please make the check payable to the Marin Community Foundation. At the bottom of the check, write the name of the fund (e.g., The John and Susan Smith Fund of the Marin Community Fund) into which the gift is going. Mail or deliver the check to:
Lizzie Cairns
Marin Community Foundation
5 Hamilton Landing, Suite 200
Novato,CA 94949
For wire transfers of cash, click on the icon to the right to download the wire transfer instructions.
If you have any questions about donating cash, please contact Lizzie Cairns, senior administrative accountant, at 415.464.2514 or via email
To make a secure online credit card donation: Go to the Online Donation Form.
Securities
MCF accepts all appreciated securities as charitable gifts. After the security is liquidated, the full value of the gift is available to support your charitable goals.
- Gifts of appreciated securities offer tax advantages, as their full fair market value is deductible as a charitable contribution up to 30% of your adjusted gross income each year when you itemize deductions.
- Deduction amounts that exceed the limit can be carried forward for up to five additional years.
- You do not have to pay federal or state capital gains taxes on the appreciated portion of the gift.
Stock or bond certificates:
Although Marin Community Foundation typically utilizes the services of Charles Schwab to sell donated securities, we have many brokerage accounts and may well have one with your brokerage firm. If you prefer to use your own brokerage firm and broker, we will need to know the name of the stock, number of shares, and the name and contact information for the broker handling the transaction. We will work with your broker to complete the transaction. If you have any questions, please contact Lizzie Cairns, senior administrative accountant at MCF, at 415.464.2514 or via email.
When you hold a paper certificate:
1. Mail your unendorsed (not signed) certificates to the Foundation:
Lizzie Cairns
Marin Community Foundation
5 Hamilton Landing, Suite 200
Novato, CA 94949
2. Send us, in a separate envelope, a signed Irrevocable Stock/Bond Power Form (below). Click on the icon below to download the form. (Please do not mail the certificates and Irrevocable Stock/Bond form together, as the certificates would be negotiable.)
The date of the gift is the date your letter is postmarked or delivered to us in person.
Click on the icon to the right to download the Irrevocable Stock/Bond Power Form.
Electronic transfer of securities:
When your securities are held at a brokerage, you may have the securities transferred electronically. To do this:
1. Click on the icon below to download the instructions with detailed information on how to make this kind of transfer.
2. In addition to sending the letter to your broker, please send a copy via mail, fax, or email to:
Lizzie Cairns
Senior Accountant
Marin Community Foundation
5 Hamilton Landing, Suite 200
Novato, CA 94949
Phone/Fax: 415.464.2514
For wire transfers of securities, click on the icon to the right to download the wire transfer instructions.
Closely held stock, restricted stock, partnership interests, and mutual funds:
If you are considering gifts of these assets, please contact Sid Hartman, chief financial and operating officer, at 415.464.2513 or via email or Lizzie Cairns, senior administrative accountant, at 415.464.2514 or via email.
Real Estate
MCF can accept a gift of a house or other personal residence, farm, commercial buildings, income-producing or non-income-producing land.
- A gift of real estate that you have owned for more than a year entitles you to a tax deduction for the fair market value of the property while allowing you to avoid paying capital gains tax.
- To make a gift of real estate, contact Sid Hartman, chief financial and operating officer, at 415.464.2513 or via email.
Personal Property
The Foundation will consider gifts of personal property, such as artwork and jewelry.
- This type of gift must be discussed individually and in advance.
- To make a gift of personal property, contact Sid Hartman, chief financial and operating officer, at 415.464.2513 or via email.
Bequests
Naming the Foundation in your will or living trust is a popular way to support the community.
- Leave a specific dollar amount, a percentage of your estate, or what remains after other bequests have been satisfied.
- If you choose, the bequest can flow into a donor-advised fund for your children to carry on your family's philanthropy.
- Bequests to the Foundation earn a full charitable deduction on estate taxes.
For detailed information on bequests, click on the icon to the right.
Retirement Plan Assets
For a gift through your estate, retirement plan assets are often the best to give because they are so heavily taxed if left to heirs.
- Income and estate taxes can easily consume over 65% of the account balance at death.
- By naming the Foundation as the remainder beneficiary of these assets, you can leave a very efficient legacy
For detailed information on gifts from your retirement plan assets, click on the icon to the right.
Life Insurance
For those whose need for life insurance has decreased, making a gift of an unneeded policy can be a convenient and effective way of meeting your charitable goals.
- Transferring ownership of a cash value policy to the Marin Community Foundation makes you eligible for a charitable tax deduction based on its current value.
- To make a gift of life insurance, contact Elizabeth Brown, vice president for Philanthropic Services, 415.464.2517 or via email.
