Thanks to the West Virginia Development Office Neighborhood Investment Program (NIP), the Eastern West Virginia Community Foundation is offering West Virginia residents NIP Tax Credits for qualifying gifts made to the Foundation. Because the West Virginia tax credits actually reduce your state tax liability, a $1000 gift to the Community Foundation translates into an actual $500 out of pocket expense—and even less if donors itemize deductions on their federal tax return.

“Tax credits can help donors make sizable gifts that will benefit favorite charities this year, and forever,” says Michael Whalton, executive director of the Eastern West Virginia Community Foundation. The Community Foundation works with local donors to build permanent community endowment. Funds are invested and the gains produce grants and scholarships that benefit Eastern West Virginia. The minimum gift to qualify for NIP tax credits is $500 and the maximum is $5,000.

A number of existing agency endowed funds held in the Community Foundation qualify a donor’s gift for the credit. The Eastern Panhandle CARE Fund, CCAP Loaves and Fishes, CASA of the Eastern Panhandle, Jefferson County Community Ministries, Camp Frame 4-H, Boys and Girls Club of the Eastern Panhandle, Healthy Smiles Dental Clinic, Shepherdstown Daycare Center, Junior Mentoring Program (JUMP), Shenandoah Women’s Center, Housing Action Fund, Community Networks, Inc. – Bethany House all have endowed funds which are eligible to receive gifts through the Neighborhood Investment Program.

Tax credits may also be used to set up a new, qualifying fund in the Community Foundation. Individuals or businesses interested in making an NIP eligible donation can call (304) 264-0353 to reserve credits and discuss how their gift will be used to benefit local charities.

The West Virginia Legislature sets aside $3 million annually in NIP tax credits. To participate, an organization must be a public 501(c)(3) charity and apply to the West Virginia Development Office. Donors may use the credits to reduce liability for West Virginia Personal Income Tax or Corporate Net Income Tax.

The Eastern West Virginia Community Foundation was founded in 1995 and serves Jefferson, Berkeley, Morgan, Hampshire and Hardy counties. It provides financial stewardship for more than 230 endowment funds, holds over $22 million in assets, and distributes nearly $1 million in annual grants and scholarships to local nonprofit organizations and college-bound students. For information about the Community Foundation visit www.EWVCF.org or call 304-264-0353.

The Eastern West Virginia Community Foundation (EWVCF) has operated successfully with three full-time employees for nearly 10 years. When our first Executive Director Amy Owen received a grant from the Benedum Foundation in 2007 to add our second and third staff members, the foundation had $7.1 million in assets, grants and scholarships totaled $153,000 per year, and there were 89 endowed funds.

During the past 10 years we have grown to $22 million in assets, now award an average of $700,000 per year in grants and scholarships, and manage 250 endowed funds. And, we’ve been able to do all of this with the same three staff positions. Our Finance and Admin Manager Felicia Fuller will celebrate her 10th anniversary with the Community Foundation on August 1. Affiliate Director (and Scholarship Coordinator) Amy Pancake has been here nine years.  I came onboard when Amy Owen moved to Virginia in 2012.

Thanks to generous donors, strong investment market returns, prudent spending, and healthy financial reserves, we are finally able to add our first new full-time employee in almost 10 years. Since our grants and scholarships have more than doubled in the past five years we realized that we needed to bring onboard a Program Manager and we are excited to announce that we have hired Karin Hammann Dunn to fill that position and join the Community Foundation team.

Karin has been working at Habitat for Humanity of the Eastern Panhandle for more than three years, first as Director of Operations, and more recently as Interim Executive Director.  Prior to that she was Assistant Project Manager at Shepherd University from 2006 to 2012 when many construction projects were completed. Early in her career Karin was the General Manager at Tanger Outlet Centers in Martinsburg and when the property sold in 2003, she stayed on and served as Director of Operations and Facilities for Mountain State University until 2006. She is a graduate of Shepherd University and cousin of founding EWVCF board member, the late Connie Hammann. Karin lives in Martinsburg with her husband Larry, a Jefferson County native. They have two children, a daughter who just completed her first year as a teacher in Berkeley County, and a son who will finish his senior year at college this coming May.

We received 35 strong applications, interviewed our top 10 candidates and were impressed with all of them. But Karin was the one that stood out most of all. She is friendly yet professional and has all the skills – grant writing, computer literacy, grant evaluating, internet, project management – that we need in a Program Manager. And, she is a self-starting multi-tasker who isn’t afraid of wearing any number of different hats at work.

Karin’s first day on the job is July 17 and once she gets settled in here at the Community Foundation we will host a reception to introduce her to the board, our technical advisors, and emeritus leaders. In the meantime, Felicia, Amy and I will continue holding everything together and counting the days until the newest member of our team joins us.