Serving Jackson County, Michigan since 1948.
For good. Forever
Ballerinas Hot Air Jubilee

How Do I Make A Gift?

Checkbook

JCF accepts gifts of all sizes, from $5 to $500,000 and more. Anyone concerned about helping community and willing to donate, no matter what the size of the gift, can have an impact. Many of our donors choose to give to JCF’s Unrestricted Community Needs Fund.

 

All of those donations are pooled together and make up the majority of our grantmaking. The impact of this fund is invaluable in the community. Some donors choose to start their own funds as well. JCF is based on building a permanent legacy to continue to improve the quality of life in Jackson forever.

What is an Endowment?

An endowment fund is like a savings account, only the money is wisely invested in a widely diversified portfolio.

Let’s say that a donor - we’ll call her Dorothy Doe - wants to create a scholarship to memorialize her late mother and father. She gives $100,000 to JCF and thus begins the Jane and John Doe Memorial Endowed Scholarship.

Every year thereafter, five and one half percent of the value of the money in the Jane and John Doe endowment fund is given to students meeting the criteria that Dorothy has worked out with JCF.

In most years, the investments do a little better than eight percent, so the fund grows over time - and so do the awards paid out to students. We try to smooth market fluctuations by using a formula that includes a multi-year average for our funds.

Endowed funds just keep on giving forever.

Education Highlighter

Three Distinct Features

A community foundation has three distinct features. It is the combination of all three that make community foundations a unique and valuable community building resource and the fastest growing segment of philanthropy in the country.

Permanent Endowment

• Invest and protect principal. In

other words, JCF invests rather than spends your gift.

• Distribute earnings via grants.

The earnings from your investment are used to support community needs.

• Build permanent community

capital - assets that can be used to meet the needs of future generations.

• Create donor legacies -

because your gift and the good it does last forever.

Broad, Flexible Purpose

JCF monitors and addresses all areas of community needs, including:

• Animal welfare

• Arts and culture

• Economic and community development

• Education

• Environment

• Health and human services

• Philanthropy and volunteerism

 

The Foundation has the flexibility to:

• Support high-impact opportunities - those

that will make the greatest difference in our community.

• Serve as a catalyst for bringing

organizations into existence as new needs arise.

• Redirect funds as appropriate if and when

our community needs them.

Personalized Giving

JCF accepts a wide range of gifts. Donors can contribute assets such as:

• Cash Stocks (gifts of highly

appreciated stock have tremendous tax advantages)

• Property (any type: real estate,

personal property, etc.)

• Bequests