Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the Noble County Community Foundation (NCCF)?

The Noble County Community Foundation was founded in January 2005 as a public charitable foundation to provide opportunity for residents and others to make charitable gifts and bequests to improve the quality of life and benefit activities occurring in the county and the region. The NCCF is building a permanent endowment that will be used to support a variety of charitable programs to address the current and changing needs of local residents.

The NCCF serves as a conduit through which donors can make gifts to benefit the community in areas such as education, social services, arts and humanities, health, seniors and other areas of the donor’s interest. We can provide an efficient, effective way to link your charitable interests with valued programs and services in the community and can offer a variety of options through which you can make a gift to benefit Noble County.

2. Why should I give through the Noble County Community Foundation?

• Flexibility. Your gift can be made through donations of cash, securities, life insurance, bequest, charitable remainder or lead trusts or other forms of deferred giving.
• Your gift will help to meet the many and ever changing needs of one of Ohio’s smallest counties.
• Your gift may be designated for a specific purpose.
• A gift to the NCCF becomes part of a perpetual trust.
• Even the smallest gifts add up and work in the community forever.
• A contribution to the NCCF qualifies for maximum deductibility for income, gift, and estate tax purposes.
• All contributions are professionally managed
• The NCCF is publicly accountable.

3. What can I donate?

You can contribute cash, securities, real estate, life insurance, tangible property, make a bequest in a will, create a charitable remainder or lead trust or use other types of deferred giving. We welcome the opportunity to work with donors to explore all giving options. Donors can contribute any amount for unrestricted purposes, can make a gift in honor or in memory of a loved one, can add to an existing fund, or with certain minimum contributions can set up their own named funds to provide for funding for charitable causes that are important to them.
Click here to the NCCF Giving page

4. How do I learn more about the Noble County Community Foundation?

The Board of Directors of the NCCF will be delighted to talk with you individually or to make presentations to groups in the community interested in learning about Noble County’s efforts to create and maintain a strong community foundation. For general information contact Mike Lloyd, NCCF Secretary, at 740-483-1602 or at mlloyd@nccfohio.org, NCCF Chairperson Judith McMullen at 740-732-5616. The NCCF is operated as an affiliate of the Marietta Community Foundation in Marietta, Ohio. Technical questions on specific donation strategies can be directed to Heather Allender, President and CEO of the Marietta Community Foundation at 740-373-3286

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5. How can I contribute?

To contribute cash to any NCCF fund, checks may be mailed to the Noble County Community Foundation, Attn: Sherri Starr, Peoples Bank, P.O. Box 274, Caldwell, OH 43724. For non-cash contributions contact Heather Allenderat 740-373-3286 to discuss planned giving options.

6. Who will benefit from Noble County Community Foundation funds?

The income from the NCCF non restricted funds will be used to make grants in Noble County for a wide variety of charitable purposes. New funds can also be established for any bona-fide charitable purpose that the donor wishes to support including such efforts as providing student scholarships, endowments for agencies, organizations, and churches and general community support for grant making.

7. Can funds be established in a designated name?

Yes. Donors may choose any reasonable name for their fund; funds are often created as a memorial or to honor friends and loved ones.

8. Who runs the Noble County Community Foundation?

The NCCF has a local board of nine directors appointed initially for terms of one, two, and three year terms. As the terms expire, the replacements will be appointed for three year terms. The individuals represent a cross section of local business, community and government leaders. All board of director members volunteer their time and effort. This board of directors will review grant applications and make funding recommendations on grant awards based on their own wisdom for unrestricted funds and based on the guidelines in place for any donor directed or other restricted fund. Current NCCF directors are Judy McMullen Chair, Shawn Ray Vice-Chair, John Cline, Joy Flood, Mike Buckey, Sherri Starr, Jim Warren, Andrea Hurst, and Don Ullmann. Mike Lloyd serves as secretary to the board.

The NCCF has been set up as an affiliate of the Marietta Community Foundation (MCF). That means that the MCF serves as the umbrella 501 c 3 tax exempt entity for the NCCF. The MCF is the organization that actually holds the assets of the NCCF and provides technical assistance in helping potential donors consider some of the more exotic methods of making charitable contributions. The use of the MCF by the NCCF prevents needless duplication of effort and assures that the activities of the NCCF are conducted in a professional, expeditious manner. The agreement between the NCCF and the MCF allows the NCCF access to a range of resources and expertise beyond what the NCCF would be otherwise able to provide at this early stage of their existence.

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9. Does the Noble County Community Foundation distribute its capital?

Not normally. The NCCF may distribute capital in cases where the donor specifies that principal is to be used. It may also distribute capital in its first years in an attempt to provide evidence that the NCCF is working in the community and to help develop the concept of charitable giving through foundations in the Noble County community. Typically, the NCCF will invest the contributions made as part of the “principal” of the fund and will pay out a portion of the annual interest earned by that “principal”.

10. How is the Noble County Community Foundation’s principal invested?

Investment services are provided for the NCCF by the MCF and NCCF funds are invested. Most funds are currently invested for both foundations through the Peoples Bank trust department. Funds are invested in a mixture of stocks and bonds designed to provide reasonable returns based on historical data and trends. The primary objective for the investment of the NCCF’s assets is to provide for long-term growth of principal and income without undue exposure to risk.

11. How much does the Noble County Community Fund distribute annually?

As a new organization, data does not yet exist to provide an answer to this question. Distributions for donor directed or donor advised funds will be distributed based on the wishes and desires of the donor. For unrestricted funds, the board will create policies that create reasonable distributions based on historical returns on funds invested. Currently the NCCF is awarding up to $2,000 per year.

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12. Why use a community foundation when one can set up a private foundation?

The IRS regulates private foundations more strictly than community foundations. Private foundations may be costly and time consuming to set up and to administer and will require financial auditing and record keeping. Tax deductions to private foundations may be more limited than to community foundations. Individuals may find that setting up a donor advised fund may meet their charitable needs just as well as the creation of a private foundation would. Setting up a donor advised fund may be more cost effective for the donor as well.

13. What types of funds could I create?

There are two basic types of unrestricted funds. True unrestricted funds are the most flexible. Because they are not limited by donors to any single purpose, they enable the NCCF to be most responsive to the changing needs of the community. Field-of-interest funds support causes of particular interest to donors, such as health or human services, education or the arts, but allow the NCCF directors to identify the projects to be funded.

Restricted funds include donor advised funds which offer active participation in the grant process by allowing the donors to suggest grant recipients. They afford all the advantages of a private foundation with greater tax benefits and none of the administrative costs. Designated funds benefit the charities of the donor’s choice. Agency funds allow not-for-profit agencies to protect their charitable funds for the future. Scholarship funds are an ideal way to establish a permanent legacy in memory of a loved one or to honor family or friends.

14. Why should I give through the Noble County Community Foundation instead directly to the charity(ies) of my choice?

Your charitable priorities may shift. Certain problems disappear over time and sometimes agencies cease to exist. A permanent fund at the NCCF is a safeguard designed to carry out your charitable objectives in perpetuity—dedicated to making sure the spirit of your gift remains intact through changing time and circumstance.

Links

Marietta Community Foundation  www.mcfohio.org
Foundation for Appalachian Ohio  www.appalachianohio.org
Noble County Website  www.noblecountyohio.com
OSU Extension, Noble County   http://noble.osu.edu

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