The Bartlesville Community Foundation is a grant-making public charity that is dedicated to improving the lives of people in Bartlesville and the surrounding area. We bring together the financial resources of individuals, families, and businesses to support effective nonprofits.
The BCF strives to be a premier organization that helps everyone, regardless of background or resources, succeed in realizing their philanthropic goals. This is done through endowed funds, grant making, and a wide variety of charitable programs.
But how exactly can the Bartlesville Community Foundation work for you?
Permanence and stability: Many charitable donors take comfort in knowing their financial support will continue long after they are gone. The BCF is like a community savings account that ensures your gift will do good work now and well into the future. The BCF exists to honor and protect the intentions of its donors in perpetuity.
Flexibility: The BCF supports a wide array of organizations, programs, and services dedicated to education, health and human services, the arts, youth, and senior citizens, just to name a few. We have several options that allow you to address a special interest or multiple interests.
Tax advantage: Contributions to BCF qualify for maximum deductibility for income, gift and estate tax purposes. We work with local professionals such as asset managers, financial planners, accountants, insurance agents, and attorneys to help donors learn how to maximize their charitable impact.
Convenience: The BCF is an established, reputable foundation that makes giving easy on the giver. For over 20 years we have provided grants, award letters, record-keeping, investing, and annual reporting. No need for donors or organizations to start from scratch because we are already here. The Foundation also allows donors to streamline their charitable giving. This is done when a donor opens a fund. At the end of the year they can get one tax letter for all of their contributions instead of tracing every charitable gift they need to report for filing taxes.
Variance power: The BCF Board of Trustees is comprised of 13 individuals who are passionate about Bartlesville. The trustees take their stewardship responsibility very seriously and are determined to protect and enhance assets over the long term. In addition, they are committed to carrying out the wishes of all donors. But in the event a charitable purpose becomes outdated or no longer exists, trustees have the authority to change a fund’s purpose without going through the courts to do so. This is known as “variance power.” Donors appreciate this feature which assures them that should the purpose, organization, or need specified as the beneficiary of their fund ever ceases to exist or becomes obsolete, their funds will be used for a new purpose but follows their original intent as closely as possible.
Contact the Bartlesville Community Foundation and let us help you realize your own charitable goals.
Laura Jensen is the director of operations for the Bartlesville Community Foundation. She can be reached at 918-337-2287or by e-mail at laura@bartlesvillecf.org.
