After Dottie retired from twenty years of teaching and sold the business that she ran for ten years, she was blessed with the opportunity to focus her energy on many things she enjoys – traveling, spending time with her family, reading and gardening, to name a few. Especially important to her was having the opportunity to donate her time and resources to the benefit of her local community, particularly the arts.
As capital campaign co-chair for the new Cortland Repertory Theater Downtown and supporter of many other causes, some would probably call her philanthropic. But to her, “philanthropy” is just a fancy word for feeling happy about helping others. She wishes the term sounded less stuffy and better described how much fun charitable giving can be.
Dottie established a donor-advised fund with us to simplify her giving and set aside her charitable dollars when it makes good financial sense. At the end of the year, Dottie puts money into the fund based on how her investments have done. She benefits from a charitable deduction and avoids capital gains tax on appreciated investments. Then she can spontaneously support requests that are most meaningful to her.
“I was never a ‘paperwork person’, so I appreciate that the Community Foundation makes it so easy to make a grant from my fund without a lot of hassle,” said Dottie. “A simple phone call, fax or email is all it takes to set the gears in motion and my charitable gifts are on their way to organizations making a difference in Central New York and beyond.”
Her donor-advised fund appeals to both the sense of service and compassion that she acquired as a teacher and the financial sense she utilized to successfully run a business. “Charitable giving is easy, fun and rewarding thanks to the Community Foundation,” she said.
