Referred Gifts Program Overview

Imagine a situation where a willing donor with a great gift wishes to help a charity, but because of timing issues or the charity's institutional constraints, the donor walks away frustrated. The sad thing is, if you've been around very long in planned giving, you don't have to imagine. You've seen it happen far too often.

Several impediments force charities to turn down even the most generous gifts. Most charities have stringent safeguards that must be followed to ensure that a potential gift doesn't become an immediate liability. In several cases, receiving gifts more complex than cash or marketable securities requires a level of expertise that many charities find impractical to have "in-house." Further, a charity may not be able to work within the timetable that the donor requires or may not be willing to cover costs associated with processing a gift.

The Referred Gifts Program of The James Foundation ("TJF") exists as a way to help save gifts that would otherwise be lost. With its nationally-known board of planned giving experts, several of whom have served in leadership roles with the National Committee on Planned Giving, TJF is able to swiftly determine the course of action to be taken with any gift. By design, TJF is free of many of the institutional constraints of other charities.

It is important to note that TJF will never compete with other charities for gifts. Rather, TJF acts in concert with both the donor and the receiving charity, collaborating to allow a gift to happen.

Exactly how does this all take place, you may ask? The donor makes a gift to The James Foundation, which will then process it and give the receiving charity cash. It is important to make clear that the receiving charity assumes no risk, fronts no costs, and simply receives cash at the end of the transaction. One or more of our trustees will be assigned to the case and will manage the process from start to finish. TJF then shares the proceeds of the gift with the referring charity. The standard percentage is three-quarters of the net proceeds to the referring charity, and one-quarter to fund TJF's endowment. These funds allow TJF to further assist other charities, including its supported organizations.

As a tax exempt public charity under 501(c)(3), all contributions to The James Foundation are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law. All determinations on specific gifts will be made quickly, on a case-by-case basis. If you would like to know more about how TJF can help you, please contact us at our address listed below.