Donor Resources
There’s more to being generous than making a gift online or mailing a check. Part of being generous involves learning and applying your giving where it can have the impact you are looking for. We’ve collected the following resources to help people just like you make the most of your generosity.
But wait, there’s more!
Don’t forget to check out our nonprofit resources and consultant list.
Your Generosity Guidebook: An Easy-to-Follow Introduction to Charitable Giving
A brand-new donor resource created right here at the Community Foundation! With simple explanations, helpful tips, and hands-on exercises, this guidebook walks you through defining your values, identifying your interests, finding your giving mission, and deepening your philanthropy.
Planning Your Legacy: Will and Estate Planning Guide
This helpful information may enable you to successfully plan your estate and avoid an accidental disinheritance.
From charitable bequests to gifts of retirement assets, this guide walks you through what you need to know about planned giving to help you achieve your personal, financial, and philanthropic goals.
Donor Advised Funds—A Better Way to Give
You’ve heard about donor advised funds, but how do they actually work? This quick overview has everything you need to know to get acquainted with this flexible, convenient, and cost-effective tool for giving.
Private Foundation Comparison: Private Foundations vs. Community Foundation Funds
What’s the difference between a private foundation and a fund at the Community Foundation—and which is right for you? This handy chart helps you choose.
This Q&A details answers to frequently asked questions about Endow Iowa Tax Credits.
GuideStar’s guide to deciphering a critical but complex document for gleaning financial information about a nonprofit.
Philanthropy education resources and support for educators, youth leaders, nonprofits, and families to help youth develop lifelong engagement in philanthropy as givers of time, talent, and treasure for the common good.
Making the American Dream Real for All: An Anti-Racism Primer for Donors
From the National Philanthropic Trust, a primer for individuals and families who wish to explore how their philanthropy can support racial equity and racial justice initiatives.
Mismatched: Philanthropy’s Response to the Call for Racial Justice
A comprehensive assessment by the Initiative for Philanthropic Racial Equity of racial equity and racial justice funding.
This Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and FDIC resource covers a wide range of information and tips to help prevent common elder financial exploitation, including how to avoid charity scams.
The Way We Think About Charity Is Dead Wrong
In this 2013 TED Talk, Dan Pallotta “calls out the double standard that drives our broken relationship to charities” and inspires philanthropists to think big.