Take care of your farm, your family, your community

The Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque has a long history of working with generous individuals to build a strong region for the future. 

When his barn caught fire more than 20 years ago, a Garnavillo hog farmer counted on the local fire department to put out the flames. Two decades later, when the department was fundraising for a new building, he wanted to show his gratitude for their actions. The year had been good to him and he found a unique way to turn his available asset — a truckload of hogs — into the capital the fire department needed. 

This is just one of the ways farmers across Northeast Iowa are using the same resources they’ve cultivated to support their families to give back to their communities. With many options for giving, the Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque and its affiliates make it easy. Whether you’re passionate about giving to your church, your local fire department, or a favorite nonprofit, the Community Foundation can help you turn your bountiful harvest or marketable livestock into charitable gifts with tax benefits that save you money. 

With hundreds of charitable funds at staffed affiliate foundations working locally across Eastern Iowa — in Allamakee, Clayton, Delaware, Dyersville, Jackson, Jones and Clinton — you can be sure that your giving stays close to home and benefits a community or cause of your choice. 

Read about a few of the ways we work with farmers to support rural Northeast Iowa communities today, tomorrow and forever.

Gifts of grain or livestock

Donating grain or livestock — like the Garnavillo hog farmer — is a simple yet unique way of giving back that many don’t consider. The value of the asset can be donated to hundreds of funds hosted by the Foundation and its affiliates, or used to start a new endowment. The Foundation will steward and grow the gift, and the interest earned can be granted out to improve quality of life in the community, forever.

By giving grain or livestock to the Foundation, farmers can avoid including the sale of the asset in their farm income. Input costs are deducted, which typically results in tax savings that work for you. 

The simplest way to give a gift of grain is to let the Foundation know of your intended gift, and tell us what fund you would like it directed to. The asset is then taken to a grain buyer, and the farmer tells the buyer how much to put into an account set up by the Foundation. The buyer then notifies the Foundation, which sells the asset and receives the proceeds.

Gifts of grain or livestock to endowments at the Foundation may be eligible for Endow Iowa, a 25% state tax credit on the total value of the gift. Visit dbqfoundation.org/endowiowa to learn more. 

Gifts of farmland

When two brothers inherited their Northeast Iowa family farm, they wanted to honor their grandparents and the lessons they’d passed on about the importance of giving back. They decided to sell the farm and start a fund with the Community Foundation that supports vision screenings and glasses for youth across the region. 

The Foundation worked with these brothers to turn their property gains into community good and will do the same for you, helping you use your land to fulfill your charitable interests and receive financial and tax benefits, such as avoiding or reducing capital gains, receiving deductions on the fair market value of the land, and eligibility for the 25% Endow Iowa State Tax Credit, and more. The Foundation can also steward the farm as a rental property or turn the sale of the land into a charitable gift. 

Here for you

We have the ability to process many types of gifts, no matter how simple or complex. With our deep understanding of community needs, knowledge of charitable giving, and prudent fiscal policies, we give people the peace of mind that their generosity is doing the most good for the community. However you choose to give back, we’re here to support you along the way and make it easy for you.

Your farm is your livelihood. You prepare, plant, nurture and support growth. That’s what we do with the charitable gifts entrusted to the Foundation – and we invite you to join us.  

Contact Sheila Kramer Tjaden at sheila@dbqfoundation.org or 563-588-2700 to learn more.