What is GCSF’s Endowment Fund?
Simply put, it allows GCSF to invest in the future of our students, and to guarantee that we will be able to award scholarships to deserving students for years to come. With the ups and downs of the economy, we don’t want to risk the amount of money we are able to donate each year just on how well our fundraising campaigns go. Each year, the money we are able to award to students comes from three buckets: Our Annual Dinner & Auction, Named Scholarship donations, and the Endowment Fund. GCSF takes 5% (of the average from the past five-year balance) from the Endowment Fund and puts this towards each year’s scholarship awards. These funds create our ‘Volunteer Fire Department Scholarships’, of which we award around 9 or 10 each year.
The GCSF Endowment Fund was initiated in 1981 by a donation from the Germantown Rotary Club in the amount of $10,000. A $200,000 donation in 1990 from the Germantown Volunteer Fire Company greatly increased the Endowment Fund. Over the years various fundraising campaigns have focused on adding to this Endowment Fund. The stock market has helped us to maintain and grow these donations overtime. However, since we pull from the Endowment Fund annually to award scholarships, it is important that we continue to fundraise and bolster these funds so that we can continue to invest in our students’ futures.
If you are so inclined, please consider donating to the Endowment Fund. It is a great way to know that your donation will grow and build over time. Options for how to donate are below. We also hold an Endowment Fund fundraiser at our Annual Dinner & Auction, so please consider attending and donating the night of!
DO YOU KNOW THE QCD RULE?!
The qualified charitable distribution (QCD) rule allows IRA owners to reduce their income taxes by donating directly to an approved charity. If you are at an age where you are required to start withdrawing from your IRA/estate and are looking at paying high taxes on the withdrawal, talk to your advisor/CPA/attorney about how to donate to GCSF’s Endowment Fund in order to lower your taxes. Give the money to a cause you support instead of to the government!
– How to Reduce Your Taxes and AGI by Giving to Charity, Mark P. Cussen, 28 Nov. 2023, www.investopedia.com.
MONETARY CONTRIBUTION
Your monetary donation can be placed in the Endowment Fund to grow over time. Click on the ‘Donate’ button on our webpage and select ‘Endowment Fund’ under ‘Designate Your Gift’.
ENDOWED SCHOLARSHIP CONTRIBUTION
These types of contributions are funds that the donor wants the Germantown Community Scholarship Fund to hold and award over time. In addition to setting specific scholarship criteria, the donor(s) may also name the scholarship. This type of contribution can also be used to set up a Memorial Scholarship (see below), a wonderful way to honor a loved one’s passing.
MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP
Creating a memorial scholarship provides the opportunity to create a lasting memory of a loved one. Consider designating Germantown Community Scholarship Fund as the beneficiary of memorial contributions. The memorial contributions may be designated for GCSF’s Memorial Fund or used to create a Named Memorial Scholarship.
Reach out to [email protected] for more information. Checks can be mailed to the below address:
Germantown Community Scholarship Fund, Inc.
C/O the Germantown High School
W180N11501 River Lane
Germantown, Wisconsin 53022
