The charity and imagination of donors fuel the work that is accomplished through Communities Foundation of Texas. Charitable giving can be more than a simple financial exchange. You may want to give something other than cash. You may have tax and legal considerations or issues related to the community impact of your gift. For any of these reasons, CFT will work with you to make your gifts to the foundation as easy as possible. And afterward, we will be a responsible steward of your gifts as we learn about your charitable priorities and share information with you about community needs.

Gifts to a fund at CFT can make good tax-sense for you and make an incredible impact in your community.

Communities Foundation of Texas is equipped to accept a variety of assets, including:

• Cash
• Marketable securities
• Transferable stock options
• Closely held stock
• Real estate
• Mineral and timber rights
• Intellectual property
• Partnerships
• Businesses
• Certain types of personal property

The circumstances of each gift are considered individually.

Give at Any Time

Gifts to a CFT fund can be made at any time - in a lump sum, over the course of several years, or from your estate. Often the best decisions about charitable giving are made when you are making other long-term financial decisions. Your legal and financial advisors, in collaboration with CFT, can advise you of the benefits of an outright gift to CFT. Likewise, it may be appropriate to include CFT in your will, as the beneficiary of a life insurance policy or your IRA, or as the beneficiary of a deferred giving plan such as a charitable remainder trust that would continue to generate income for you during your lifetime.

For more information, call Jackie Franey, director of gift planning and donor relations; Debra Phares, director, donor relations; or Dwight Clasby, vice president, external affairs, at (214) 750-4222, or e-mail them at jfraney@cftexas.org, dphares@cftexas or dclasby@cftexas.org.