The Columbus Foundation offers you personalized services and one-of-a-kind resources. The resources below provide information about your options for giving.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
The Columbus Foundation is one of the largest community foundations in the United States. Community foundations are tax-exempt, public charities that empower donors to make lasting impact on their communities and beyond by facilitating impactful giving through charitable funds, convening conversations, and creating opportunities to invest in our community’s most pressing needs and most promising opportunities.
Charitable giving is the act of giving money, time, or goods to a charitable organization. Specifically, when giving money, donations are considered charitable when they are directed to eligible tax-exempt organizations, which includes the more than 1.5 million public charities as defined by section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, as well as most places of worship and government entities. Charitable giving can be done through a current transfer of assets or a future planned gift to these organizations.
Whether or not you are aware of it, your life is impacted by dozens of eligible tax-exempt organizations—often referred to as nonprofits—every day! From the museum or park you visit with your family, to the public radio station you listen to on your commute, to the animal shelter where you adopted your pet—nonprofits shape our communities in ways large and small.
Planned giving is the process of creating and documenting a plan to give something of value to a charitable organization at a future date. This can include a gift through a will, trust, or beneficiary designation forms, as well as use of certain charitable tools like Charitable Gift Annuities, which is a contract between a donor and The Columbus Foundation that pays the donor a fixed income stream for life.
No. Grants from Columbus Foundation funds can support any qualified public charity in the United States. Many of our funds support nonprofits in different states, including where donors grew up or have retired. Our Scholarship Funds impact students across the United States. Donors can even support nonprofits doing work internationally. Many international organizations have U.S. affiliates, to which fund advisors may be able to recommend a grant. For additional fees, The Columbus Foundation can use an international intermediary to assist in making grants to an international nongovernment organization.
The Columbus Foundation offers an array of investment options through a long-established relationship with Vanguard. The Columbus Foundation also works with more than 30 approved investment partners to manage fund investment for funds with a balance of $100,000 or more. The investment agents charge fees that vary with the investment agent and the investment vehicles used.
We are here to help you help others through the most effective philanthropy possible. This starts with meeting you where you are. We can grab coffee, meet at The Columbus Foundation or your advisor’s office, or set up a call or virtual meeting at your convenience. One of our Donor Services advisors can connect with you directly or in partnership with your financial or legal advisor.
Typically, meetings start with us getting to know you and your unique charitable interests. From there, we work with you to explore giving options and outline a plan that reflects your values and advances your charitable goals.
The Columbus Foundation’s administrative fees are charged based on the amount of work required to administer different types of funds. Administrative fees directly support the mission of The Columbus Foundation as we work to assist donors and others in strengthening and improving our community for the benefit of all its residents.
Funds are also charged investment fees by investment agents. Investment fees vary based on the investment agent and investment vehicles used. Through economies of scale, The Columbus Foundation has negotiated low investment fees. The Columbus Foundation does not benefit from investment fees.
WHAT TO GIVE
Donors have a variety of giving options to consider when creating a new charitable fund or adding to an existing fund. We accept a range of assets to make giving a convenient and simple process. The decision of what to give should be made based on the donor’s particular tax and financial situation. Our Policy and Guidelines govern the acceptance of gifts and provide guidance to current and prospective donors and their advisors when gifting to the Foundation.
Cash gifts can be delivered via check, cash wire, or credit card. All checks are made payable to The Columbus Foundation with the name of the specific fund on the memo line of your check.
A gift of appreciated securities (such as stock, bonds, and mutual funds) can be used to establish a fund or add to an existing fund. Appreciated securities held long term often provide important tax advantages.
Lifetime Giving: Individual retirement account (IRA) owners age 70½ or older have the option to donate up to $108,000 per individual (2025 limit, indexed for inflation) from an IRA directly to a qualifying charity. The distribution counts toward the required minimum distribution (RMD), but the assets are not recognized as income. This technique, known as a qualified charitable distribution (QCD)—or a charitable IRA rollover—is a well-established, easy, and popular giving option. QCD gifts cannot be made to Donor Advised Funds or Supporting Foundations, but other types of funds are eligible, including Designated Funds, Scholarship Funds, Field of Interest Funds, Unrestricted Funds, and Charitable Gift Annuities.
Estate Giving: Retirement plan assets distributed to family members may be subject to double taxation, first through estate tax, and then through the beneficiaries’ income tax. When making a charitable estate plan, it is often advantageous to transfer an asset that is subject to income tax, like a retirement plan, to a tax-exempt organization, such as The Columbus Foundation, which incurs no estate or income tax—and leave the assets not subject to an income tax to heirs. When naming The Columbus Foundation a beneficiary, the donor should notify The Columbus Foundation of their intentions for the gift.
Language for Beneficiary Designation Forms: “The Columbus Foundation, 1234 E. Broad Street, Columbus, OH 43205, EIN 31-6044264.”
The following language can be used to name The Columbus Foundation as the recipient of a gift via a will or trust or through beneficiary designation. When naming The Columbus Foundation a beneficiary, the donor should notify The Columbus Foundation of their intentions for the gift. See other planned giving options here.
Language for Wills and Trusts: “[dollar amount or percentage] of [estate or trust] to The Columbus Foundation, an Ohio nonprofit corporation, of Columbus Ohio, to be administered by The Columbus Foundation in accordance with separate written instructions that I will provide to The Columbus Foundation.”
Gifts of real estate include a gift of a house, personal residence, farm, commercial building, or income producing or non-income producing land. Giving unencumbered real property can allow you to contribute more than you may have thought possible. When gifting real property, you can avoid capital gains on the sale of the property and can take a charitable tax deduction for the fair market value of the real property.
Some donors find it advantageous to give an interest in a privately owned business. This can take the form of shares in a closely held corporation, partnership interests, or membership interests in LLCs. A charitable income tax deduction and other benefits can be available depending on the circumstances. Each such gift comes with specific considerations, and The Columbus Foundation’s Donor Services team welcomes a conversation to learn more specific background.
Charitably inclined individuals and their professional advisors can discuss making various types of oil, gas, and mineral interests as charitable gifts, including royalty interests. The Columbus Foundation reserves the right to review and evaluate proposed gifts on a case-by-case basis.
The Columbus Foundation can accept gifts of life insurance policies and proceeds as a gift to an existing fund or as gift to establish a new fund.
If you are sending money from a non-Columbus Foundation Donor Advised Fund, list “The Columbus Foundation” as the grantee and include the beneficiary fund in the allotted purpose field. If you are moving the full balance of a non-Columbus Foundation Donor Advised Fund to The Columbus Foundation to establish a new fund, please contact your current Donor Advised Fund custodian to confirm the process for closing out your existing fund. Transfer of Donor Advised Fund assets has no tax implications.
OTHER RESOURCES
The Columbus Foundation develops resources to help you learn more about our community, nonprofits, special initiatives, and grants. Connect with us for timely Columbus Foundation news or browse our resources to learn more.
E-Communications
Sign up to receive periodic updates about special giving opportunities like The Big Give, pressing community needs, and other news about our community.
Newsletters
Read the current issue of our newsletter, NEXUS, for inspiring stories of generosity and impact in our community.
Research Reports
Read and download copies of Columbus Foundation-supported research reports.
Annual Reports
View our award-winning Annual Reports that feature stories of donors, community initiatives, new funds, and financial information.
News
Check out the latest news about The Columbus Foundation by viewing our press releases.
Special Initiatives
Explore giving initiatives that create a shared investment opportunity for donors and community members.