Gift of Real Estate

Making a charitable gift of real estate through the Community Foundation can help you turn your property gains into community good. The value of your real estate may exceed that of any other asset you own. With the help of the Community Foundation, you can use it to fulfill your charitable interests and receive financial and tax benefits.

A gift of real estate releases potential that has been tied up for years, enables you to make a bigger charitable difference than you may have thought possible, helps you avoid estate taxes, and minimizes or eliminates burden placed on your heirs. Charitable gifts of real estate range from personal residences and vacation homes to rental properties, farmland and commercially developed land.

You may choose to give real estate outright and receive an immediate tax deduction or retain the use of the property during your lifetime and make a planned gift to the Community Foundation. You may also choose to convert real estate into a stream of income for the rest of your life by establishing a Charitable Remainder Trust or Charitable Gift Annuity with the Community Foundation. Doing this lets you transform a low-yield asset into a higher-yield, income-producing asset and claim a tax deduction for the charitable portion of the gift.

How it works:

• You identify real estate property that you would like to give; an appraisal will help you establish its estimated market value.

• We assess the real estate for compliance with our acceptance policies and gather appropriate documentation.

• Your gift can be placed in any of our existing charitable funds or you can establish a new fund.

• Your gift qualifies for a tax deduction based on its full market value; you avoid the capital gains tax that would otherwise arise from the sale of the property.

• With gifts of real estate, your property gains translate into community impact, so you get a more rewarding return on a major asset.

• We handle all the administrative details.

• Your gift can be placed into an endowment that is invested over time. Earnings from your fund are used to make grants addressing community needs. Your gift—and all future earnings from your gift—is a permanent source of community capital, helping to do good work forever.