The Omaha Community Foundation was established in 1982, functioning primarily as a charitable bank for Omaha and Southwest Iowa philanthropists. Since then, our community knowledge has grown, programming has expanded, partnerships have formed, and OCF is now a regional thought leader in charitable giving.

So, how could partnering with Omaha Community Foundation benefit you and your clients?

1. We are knowledgeable

We work with attorneys, financial advisors, and tax professionals to help you enhance your client relationships by offering local, personalized charitable giving services. Whether serving as a local charitable giving resource or maximizing tax savings, we work as a part of your team to meet your clients’ charitable goals. Our team closely follows legislation related to charitable planning to help your clients make informed decisions regarding their charitable giving.

2. We make giving efficient

Your clients can open a charitable fund with us, gift money or assets to that fund, and then use that fund to donate to nonprofits they support, whether locally or nationally. Your client receives a tax deduction at the time of funding their account at OCF, but has the flexibility to control the timing of the ultimate distribution out to nonprofits in the community, which has no set time frame.

We get to know your clients and help you determine the best tools to reach their charitable goals. We streamline the giving process while providing personal, concierge-level service adaptive to your clients’ needs. As an advisor, you can have access your clients’ charitable funds online, making it simple to view and make contributions, track investments, and donate to nonprofits per the client’s direction.

3. Personalized philanthropy

Whether your clients want to lighten their tax burden, invest in a specific charitable cause, shift financial resources during retirement, or create a legacy of giving, we are here to inform and simplify this process. You and your clients can work with a member of our Donor Services team to customize a giving plan which can be can be structured as short-term, a term of years, or perpetual.

4. Meeting clients’ needs

Whether your clients want to establish a charitable trust, private foundation, charitable legacy plan, or Donor Advised Fund, we can help your clients determine which option is best for them by offering our knowledge of the charitable landscape and tax regulations that can impact their goals.

5. We help donors manage their philanthropic legacy

Your clients can give beyond their lifetime, and we can support your planning conversations to deepen your client relationships now and into the next generations. From funding philanthropic vehicles like a Donor Advised Fund through a will or trust, or using beneficiary designations, we partner with you to help your clients define and implement their charitable goals. Naming a fund at the Omaha Community Foundation in an estate plan can provide flexibility for charitable designations. Our team can discuss how to include children, grandchildren, or anyone else in your client’s life as part of their charitable plan.

6. We accept a wide range of assets

In addition to donating cash and stock, your clients can donate a range of non-cash assets, which can be a tax-savvy way to achieve their giving goals.

  • Real estate – Donating real estate to a Donor Advised Fund at OCF is generally deductible at the property’s fair market value and avoids capital gains taxes. That means the nonprofit will receive more value from the property donation than if your client sold the property and then donated the cash proceeds.
  • Privately held stock – Donating stock outright avoids capital gains tax. The transaction results in more funds available to support causes your client cares about than your client would have had if they had sold the asset, paid capital gains, and given the remaining cash proceeds to nonprofit.
  • Charitable life insurance – Clients can name OCF as the beneficiary of a life insurance policy, donate an existing policy, or purchase a new policy and donate it. With a new policy, premiums are paid monthly by the Foundation, which are eligible for a tax deduction.
  • IRAs – A Charitable IRA Rollover (also known as a Qualified Charitable Distribution) is a tax-savvy way to use retirement assets to make charitable gifts. Clients 70½ or older can donate up to $100,000 per year per person from an IRA directly to a charitable organization, including a fund at the Omaha Community Foundation. The benefit is the rollover amount from an IRA can be accomplished without triggering federal income taxes.
  • Farm assets – Options include an outright gift of farmland to the Community Foundation or a transfer to a charitable remainder trust that names a fund at the Omaha Community Foundation as the charitable beneficiary. The trust produces lifetime income for your client and a charitable benefit as a legacy.
7. We serve our community

Through relationships with local nonprofits, extensive research, and ongoing outreach, we have developed a deep knowledge and are supporting our area’s nonprofit organizations. Through our partnerships with advisors, your clients can positively impact the organizations in our community.

If you have any questions about charitable planning or how the Omaha Community Foundation can bolster your philanthropic knowledge, contact me at 402-884-1757 or catherine@omahafoundation.org.