Across the country, people in their seventies have been doing something special with their individual retirement accounts (IRAs): making the gift of a lifetime to charity, free of federal tax. The tax law making this possible is set to expire December 31, 2009. While it’s also possible to give your IRA to charity, tax-free, as a charitable beneficiary, many people enjoy making a major gift during their lifetimes. Before the end of 2009, if you’re age 70½ or older, you may transfer up to $100,000 from an IRA to the Community Foundation—tax-free. If married, each spouse can transfer $100,000 from his or her IRA. “These retirement accounts can be heavily taxed if given to heirs—so they’re always a nice option for charitable giving,” said Dr. Carole L. Touchinski, Executive Director of the Marquette County Community Foundation. “If you’re using your IRA to make a gift during your lifetime, you can take full advantage of the Community Foundation’s personalized service and local expertise—so we want to make sure everyone knows about this opportunity before it’s over.”
For more information on the charitable giving legislation and the Charitable IRA opportunity, please contact Carole at 906.226.7666 or click below for additional materials. 

Tools for Giving
Identify Your Charitable Options

Registration will be held at the YMCA on November 9th.
Click here for the registration form.

In June of 1988, the Marquette Community Foundation came into existence and will celebrate our 20th Anniversary next year!  In the past twenty years, our assets have grown from a mere $1500 to over $8 million.  The first grant cycle was back in 1994 and since then over $1.5 million has been distributed as grants to non-profit organizations working to make the community a better place to live for all its residents and scholarships to students of all ages.  Look for more news as we release plans for our celebration next year.

At the Annual Meeting of Trustees in June, the board of trustees welcomed two new members.  Although new to the board for this year, neither are strangers to the Marquette Community Foundation.  Stu Bradley, of Edward Jones, rejoins the board after a 3-year hiatus.  He had previously sat on the board for 9 years and left only because he was term-limited.  Back on the board he is anxious to resume his trustee duties by sitting on the development committee.  Maura Davenport has served for over 5 years on the grants committee and now joins the full board.  Her community activism will be greatly appreciated by all members.

In August of 2007, the Marquette Community Foundation and the United Way of Marquette County collaborated on request for grant proposals for funding requests from the Romney Endowment Fund for Volunteerism.  The Fund was originally established with matching grants to support the Marquette Volunteer Center, a program previously run by the United Way.  With the closure of the Center, the United Way board and the Foundation board join together to determine organization's proposals and their qualifications established through the grant agreement with the Council of Michigan Foundations.

The following programs were approved for funding:

Central Lake Superior Land Conservancy; $500:  for marketing materials to distribute to volunteer property owners to educate them about invasive plant species and how to control and prevent their spread.

Girl Scouts of Peninsula Waters; $1500:  to provide incentives and training for adult volunteers with up-to-date materials and resources and funding for a marketing campaign to recruit new volunteers.

Alger-Marquette Community Action Board; $2000:  to provide funding for a volunteer recognition program and gas cards for volunteers with the Meals on Wheels program.

Retired Senior Volunteer Program; $3000:  to assist in the recruitment of senior volunteers and mileage reimbursement for those volunteer seniors who indicate a need in order to volunteer.

Great Lake Center for Youth Development; $3000:  to expand UP-wide the 211 Volunteer Call Center.