Support the Church in Northeast Ohio and make a difference with your gift. 
Enrich lives in Northeast Ohio through spiritual, educational, and charitable support. 
We help foster faith-based stewardship in the community for the spiritual, educational and charitable needs of all. Are you considering a year-end gift to care for the poor, help a child receive a Catholic education, provide support to a seminarian or support your parish? The Catholic Community Foundation is glad to help you accomplish charitable giving objectives and support the Catholic causes you care about most.
Giving options include:
- Gift of cash. Giving cash is easy and the most popular way to make a charitable gift. We can accept gifts via mail (postmarked by 12/31/2025) or an online gift though the year-end.
- Gift of long-term appreciated securities. Gifts of long-term appreciated securities (i.e., securities you have held for longer than one year) can help you bypass capital gains tax even if you are not able to itemize your charitable donations. You transfer your long-term appreciated security from your brokerage or custody account directly to the Catholic Community Foundation. You may receive an immediate charitable income tax deduction of the full fair market value of your contribution for up to 30% of your adjusted gross income (AGI), and importantly, eliminate any capital gains tax. Find our stock transfer instructions here.
- IRA Qualified Charitable Distribution. If you have attained age 70 ½ and you have an Individual Retirement Account (IRA), you may distribute up to $108,000 tax free from your IRA to a qualifying charity. This distribution satisfies your required minimum distribution and reduces your taxable income dollar for dollar, even without itemizing. Gifts must be made directly from the IRA to the charity. As an added bonus, using a QCD to fulfill required minimum distributions can lower your adjusted gross income, potentially reducing taxes on Social Security income and Medicare surtaxes. Learn more about Qualified Charitable Distributions here.
- Establishing a Donor Advised Fund. Perhaps you are facing a significant taxable event such as the sale of a business or a highly appreciated asset. Or, your advisor may be suggesting that you bunch several years’ worth of charitable donations into one year to exceed the standard deduction threshold to claim your full tax deduction now but recommend grants to your favorite charities over a span of several years. A Donor Advised Fund established with the Catholic Community Foundation may offer you the tax advantages you desire and allow you to recommend grants to Catholic and other organizations you care about. You will have the added assurance that the underlying investments are made in accordance with teachings of the Catholic Church. Learn more about Donor Advised Funds here.
- Accelerate Your Giving to Maximize Tax Deductions in 2025. New floors and ceilings on itemized charitable deductions will decrease the value of these deductions after December 31, 2025. The new tax law requires taxpayers to give at least 0.5% of your adjusted gross income (AGI) to claim a charitable deduction. And if you are in the 37% tax bracket, charitable deductions will count at only 35%. By bunching multiple years' worth of gifts in a donor advised fund with the Catholic Community Foundation before year-end, you can receive the maximum tax benefits now and take your time deciding which charities to support later.
- Gifts that Provide Income. Are you looking to increase your income and have the potential to help Catholic Charities or another diocesan ministry in the future? Making a gift of cash or a low-yielding, appreciated asset to establish a Charitable Gift Annuity with the Catholic Community Foundation can provide you with a fixed income stream for life, with the possibility for current tax benefits. And now, you can fund your gift using your IRA assets. If you are 70 1/2 and older, you can make a one-time election of up to $54,000 to fund a gift annuity. While your gift does not qualify for an income tax deduction, it does escape income tax liability on the transfer and count toward all or part of your required minimum distribution. Learn more about Charitable Gift Annuities here.
- Angel Scholarship Fund. Ohio's tax credit program gives you the opportunity to turn your taxes into tuition for Catholic school students (up to $750 for individual and $1,500 for married couples filing jointly). Learn more about the Angel Scholarhip Fund here.
- Employer Matching Gifts. Many employers match charitable contributions, effectively doubling or tripling your donation without additional cost to you. Check with your employer for matching programs and submit your donations for matches.
To learn more about your opportunities for Year-End Giving to Catholic Charities, Catholic Education, Priestly Formation or your parish, please contact:
Mary Lou Ozimek
216-696-6525 x4070
We encourage you to contact your professional legal and/or financial advisors to determine which gift arrangement meets your needs.