Give

What matters to you?

For 25 years, the Otsego Community Foundation has been helping people like you make the most of their charitable giving and fulfill their philanthropic goals.

Give to an Existing Fund

Give to a fund that directly supports our work or to funds supporting a variety of causes.  Donate as part of your annual giving, to honor a loved one, or simply because it does good.

Establish a Fund

Support a cause. Give directly to organizations you care about.  Create a family tradition of giving. Honor someone or pay tribute to a loved one’s memory.

Plan Your Legacy

Including the Otsego Community Foundation in your estate plan is an easy way for you to make a significant impact on community needs and create a legacy that lasts forever.

Fund Highlights

Cwik Holly by Golly Fund

Memorial donations in memory of Terri Cwik to this fund will ensure Terri’s spirit lives on by supporting causes important to Mike and Terri. 

Click on the graphic above to give to the Cwik Holly By Golly Fund. 

Dayton Thomas Foot Fund

The Foot family has established the Dayton Thomas Foot Memorial Fund of the Otsego Community Foundation.  Grants from the fund will be awarded to support Dayton’s favorite local causes

Click on the graphic above to give to the Dayton Thomas Foot Fund. 

Give to an Existing Fund

Donate to a fund that directly supports the good work of the OCF, or we are also home to numerous funds established by generous individuals, families, and businesses. These Funds make grants to support organizations or areas of interest. You can donate to any of these funds right now. Make a donation to celebrate an event or milestone, give in memory of a loved one, or add to a local organization at the OCF.

All OCF funds are open-ended and accept gifts at any time.

To review our gift acceptance guidlines click here

Use the button below to see our full list of funds.

Tax ID Number: 38-3216235

How to Give

Mail a check to:

Otsego Community Foundation, PO Box 344 Gaylord, MI 49734

Or click the button below to give online now:

Matching Gifts

Did you know that thousands of companies match donations by employees to non-profit organizations? Click the button to learn more about matching gifts.

Testimonials

What Donors are Saying

“Partnering with the Otsego Community Foundation seemed like the best way to connect with and to benefit our biggest resource: our children. Making higher education more affordable is a goal of the Readers’ Fund, especially when it is achieved through opportunities in the high school curriculum,” Betsy Sanders.

“Just as many people, Herman Lunden lived in a number of communities, but he had chosen a 40 acre lot in what is now the Pigeon River Country to build his retirement home. He never had the chance to build that log home but through being a part of the OCF this endowment can always be giving back to the community that he loved and that cared about him.” Pat Lunden

“We are grateful to have OCF as a vital organization for the betterment of our community and world!!

Erik and Brandie Meisner

Establish a fund

Great giving options. Choose the one that is the right fit for you.

A fund can be established in your name or in the name of your family, your organization or anyone you wish to honor. Funds can also be established on an anonymous basis. All grants made—today and in the future—are awarded to charities in the name of the fund. It’s a beautiful way to link your community investment with a special person or purpose, forever.

Unrestricted Funds

Your gift is highly flexible and available to meet the breadth of community needs—including future needs that may not yet be imagined. Your community foundation’s program experts evaluate all aspects of community wellbeing—arts and culture, economic development, education, environment, health and human services, neighborhood revitalization and more. Unrestricted gifts empower us to make strategic grants, where need and opportunity are greatest.

Field of Interest Funds

Focus your gift on an important area of community life, such as enriching education, safeguarding health, strengthening families, improving neighborhoods, cultivating arts or protecting the environment. You identify your personal interest when making your gift; our board awards grants to community organizations and programs that are making a difference in the area you select.

Donor Advised Funds

Enjoy ongoing involvement. When you establish a Donor Advised Fund, you work with our professional program staff to identify possible grants that may benefit a variety of causes and organizations important to you. Your recommendations are submitted to our local board for approval, and grants are distributed in the name of your fund.

Designated Funds

Direct your charitable gift to benefit a specific nonprofit organization or purpose. Your gift can provide an ongoing funding stream for a senior center, museum or virtually any nonprofit charitable organization. Nonprofit organizations may also begin their own Agency Endowments through the community foundation, using our capabilities to accept complex gifts and to build a lasting endowment.

Scholarships

Invest in your community’s future and show students you care, all with the guidance and personal services of your community foundation. You determine the criteria students must meet to receive the scholarship you establish. With your assistance, students achieve their academic and career-oriented goals—from preschool to postgraduate work.

The Legacy Society recognizes individuals and couples who have named the Otsego Community Foundation as the beneficiary of any type of planned or deferred gift. The purpose is to acknowledge and thank those who have made these gifts and to encourage and inspire others to do the same.  Members of the Legacy Society will be recognized in our publications. 

Legacy Society Members

Brad & Dana Bensinger
Scott Chesley   
Bill & Liz Forreider
             Duane Jasinski               
Susan A . Jordan
Bruce & Tammy Kohnert
Hans and Dolores Kuehlenthal 
Mary B. Seger
                        James Roth                          
           Tom Wagar              
Aara Sue Willison
      Janet M. Allen & James C. Smith Jr.

Tom Wager Legacy Society Member

My Dad, Ford Wagar, was pretty frugal and like the saying goes, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Giving back to the community has never been a problem. We always gave to the cause, with our time and money but never the “BIG” money. That frugal upbringing, always suggesting, “save your money for a rainy day” and we did just that. Following that game plan has paid off and now I have the resources available to accomplish two goals, to give back to the community and be remembered.”

Scott Chesley Legacy Society Member

“I think what I like best about the Otsego Community Foundation is it’s the one place where you can give and that gift keeps on giving forever.”

Bill & Liz Forreider Legacy Society Members

“The Legacy Society allows us the opportunity to give to the community we love so much, long beyond our time.  Our gratitude can be expressed forever!”

Hans and Dolores (Dee) Kuehlenthal Legacy Society Members

Why am I a member of the Otsego Community Foundation Legacy Society? That is a very easy answer: Love for this amazing community. My family has lived in Gaylord for 6 generations, and I want wonderful things to happen past the generations that follow me. I have complete trust in the leadership and knowledge of the OCF and know that my legacy will help shape a future that is strong and bright. 

Getting Started

What matters to you?

We can help you create giving solutions that reflect your goals, values and motivations. Consider the following questions to prepare for conversation;

Questions

(989) 731 – 0597

Info@otsegofoundation.org

01.

Consider the charitable intent, what area of the community do you want to benefit?

02.

How long do you want it to last?

03.

What do you want to name it?