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Great Falls Community Food Bank

1620 12th Ave N

Great Falls, MT 59401

Reduce Your Taxes While Feeding the Hungry

For the past 2+ years, our community (and the world) has faced a period of exceptional stress. Thanks to the ongoing commitment of our supporters, the Great Falls Community Food Bank has been able to weather this storm, ensuring that some of our most vulnerable neighbors were spared the additional hardship of increased food insecurity during this time. To ensure that the Food Bank is again in a position to serve our community through the next storm, we wanted to share a little information with you about a special incentive in Montana for making gifts to the Food Bank's endowment.

Great Falls Community Food Bank has established an endowment fund at Montana Community Foundation (MCF) for the permanent benefit of our organization’s vital work to feed the hungry. Even better, qualified contributions to this endowment will enable donors to take advantage of the Montana Endowment Tax Credit (METC) – a direct credit toward your Montana state tax liability. Individuals can claim up to $10,000 in METC annually or $20,000 for couples filing jointly, and business donors are eligible for up to $10,000 as well.

If you make a gift of $2,500 or more to help ensure a strong and vibrant future for the Food Bank and could benefit from receiving a direct credit on your Montana taxes, this is an excellent opportunity to consider. Here is how it works:

The state of Montana considers certain types of “planned gifts” from individuals such as charitable gift annuities, deferred charitable gift annuities, charitable trusts, and gifts of paid-up life insurance to be donations that qualify for the METC. Your contribution is made directly to the Montana Community Foundation and set up as a planned gift that will provide future benefit to the Great Falls Community Food Bank Endowment.

Charitable Gift Annuity - Donors receive lifetime income payments in exchange for their contribution. Doing a charitable gift annuity (CGA) can be a simple and effective option to meet both your charitable and financial needs.

• Receive tax benefits in the year of the donation, including the METC, to apply to your state taxes and an itemizable deduction on your federal taxes.
• You will immediately begin receiving a fixed amount of annual income in the form of an annuity payment. The income payments will continue for the remainder of your life and/or a joint annuitant’s life (such as a spouse). 
• After the final annuitant dies, the balance remaining in the CGA will be transferred to the Food Bank Endowment and provide a lasting impact for our organization, forever. 
• Contributions of $10,000 or more can be used to fund a CGA.

Deferred Gift Annuity - If receiving annual income in exchange for the gift is not important or necessary, then a deferred charitable gift annuity (DGA) contribution is an excellent and highly popular option to qualify for the METC. 

• The start date of the annuity income payments is deferred out years into the future, typically to a date just prior to the donor’s life expectancy, which is the maximum deferral period allowed by the state of Montana. 
• In doing so, this provides you with the greatest tax benefit for your gift by yielding the most METC and largest itemizable deduction. 
• The DGA is held intact in your name for 5 years, a waiting period required by the state, during which time it is invested with the intention that the balance will grow beyond the original gift amount. 
• Once the waiting period is over the DGA can then be closed out and the balance transferred to the Great Falls Community Food Bank Endowment for our organization’s benefit. 
• Contributions of as little as $2,500 can be used to set up a DGA.



Both planned gift vehicles are easy to set up and offer tax-efficient and impactful strategies for donors to help meet their financial and charitable goals. Plus, they provide enduring support for the important work the Great Falls Community Food Bank does to keep vulnerable members of our community fed. As with all major financial decisions, we encourage you to check with your financial planner before making a planned gift.

To learn more about how you can support the Great Falls Community Food Bank through our endowment fund at the Montana Community Foundation and take advantage of the tax credit and other benefits, please contact Shaun at the Food Bank who will put you in touch with the experts at MCF.