Endowment Fund

The purpose of the Endowment fund is to support the Geauga County Historical Society, including Century Village Museum, and its programs for the preservation and dissemination of information about the county's history.

What is the Geauga County Historical Society Endowment Fund?

The endowment fund is a permanently held pool of gifts that provides ongoing financial help to the Geauga County Historical Society and its programs.

The Cleveland Foundation manages this endowment fund, investing our gifts for prudent growth. Each year, a percentage of the endowment is available for the operation of our organization. Donors who contribute to our fund can be assured their gifts will live on in perpetuity, helping us meet the community's needs well into the future.

Endowment gifts provide the Historical Society with a permanent source of revenue. That revenue, along with our partnership with The Cleveland Foundation, gives us a measure of security that allows us to focus on our mission. The endowment fund also offers donors a wide variety of options for giving.

How can I help the Geauga County Historical Society through its Endowment Fund?

 

Giving Now:

• Cash or Stock Gifts - These gifts are simple to make and immediately effective. All cash contributions are tax-deductible (up to 50% of a donor's adjusted gross income). Appreciated assets can include stocks, bonds, mutual funds and real property, and are tax-deductible up to 30% of adjusted gross income.

 

Future Giving:

• Bequest - An outright bequest to the Historical Society is the simplest way to provide a future gift. Please contact The Cleveland Foundation for specific bequest language that can be included in your will or trust.
• Charitable Gift Annuity - A gift annuity is an irrevocable gift that returns a stream of payments to the donor or another beneficiary, based on the recipient's age at the time the gift was made. The donor qualifies for a charitable tax deduction for part of the gift, while the payments may receive favorable tax treatment. Most importantly, the gift annuity will substantially help meet the future needs of the Geauga County Historical Society.

• Life Insurance Policy - Unused life insurance policies make excellent charitable gifts. Please contact The Cleveland Foundation for more information.

• Charitable Remainder Trust - Charitable remainder trusts allow donors to make gifts using payment options that best meet their needs. Additionally, remainder trusts are flexible enough to permit the use of a variety of assets including cash, securities and real property. Donors qualify for a charitable deduction for part of the gift, and trust beneficiaries receive a percentage of the trust returned to them annually. The payments also may offer some tax benefit to the recipient.

• Charitable Lead Trust - Through charitable lead trusts, donors can support the charitable needs of the Historical Society now, and the remaining assets can be transferred to other individuals or even to themselves at a future date. Assets in the lead trust would come to the Historical Society for a fixed number of years or over a donor's lifetime. When payments are no longer being made to the Historical Society, the remainder can be returned to a beneficiary or beneficiaries with possible tax advantages. Your gift today can have an impact on the lives of others for generations to come. Please consider how you might create a legacy through the endowment fund of the Geauga County Historical Society.

 

For more information, please call:
the Gift Planning and Donor Relations team at The Cleveland Foundation at 216.861.3810 or toll-free 877.554.5054, or the Geauga County Historical Society at 440.834.1492.