Hephzib ah Childr en’s A s so cia tion
MAJOR GIVING PROGR AM
Helping children thrive and families f lourish
In a perfect world, the lives of all children would be free from neglect and abuse. Families would not fracture from pressures such as poverty, unemployment, illness or substance abuse. Every child would be protected, nurtured and enriched. Because we live in an imperfect world, there is Hephzibah. Hephzibah Children’s Association is Oak Park’s oldest social service agency—founded in 1897 when a village resident named Mary Wessels opened her home to two young boys. Later, when a local orphanage was destroyed by fire, Mary took in more than a dozen orphans and made it her mission to care for “society’s most vulnerable children”—a mission that continues until this day. More than a century later, Hephzibah’s mission is a multifaceted one. We offer short- and long-term group homes for children traumatized by neglect and abuse, child welfare and family services, foster care and adoption programs and award-winning after-school day care on a sliding scale for families of all income levels. By staying narrowly focused on helping children and families in need, Hephzibah has evolved into a nationally recognized agency known for providing exceptional care for those who need it most. With your generous support, Hephzibah will always be there to meet this need.
Why we need your support Private funding has always been vital to Hephzibah’s success, but now it is more critical than ever. Although our administrative costs are less than 17 percent of our total budget, operating and program costs continue to rise. Meanwhile, government funding has plateaued and is expected to decline in the coming years. Today, we rely on program fees and the generosity of private benefactors, corporate and community partners and foundations for nearly 40 percent of our operating costs. Your generous support will enable us to maintain Hephzibah’s nationally recognized programs today — and sustain them for the future.
In 2001, 92 percent of Hephzibah’s funding came from state and local governments and program fees. Although government funding has remained constant over the past decade, it has not kept pace with rising operating expenses. Today, government funding covers only 65 percent of our operating costs. In the coming years, we will be relying on program fees and private support for nearly 40 percent of our operating expenses.
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The Widening Gap
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GIF TS FO R C U R R EN T USE
END OW ED GIF TS
Help vulnerable children and families today.
Create a lasting legacy for the children of tomorrow.
Each year, Hephzibah Children’s Association helps hundreds of children get the love and care that is their birthright. Current-use gifts from our supporters help us meet the immediate, essential needs of these children and provide critical support for Hephzibah’s day-to-day operations. A significant current-use gift will give you maximum tax benefits, which is especially beneficial if you are in a high-earning year. A gift for current use is made by the donor with the expectation that it will be used immediately or in the near future. It may be composed of almost any asset of value, including cash, appreciated securities, real estate or personal property. Your current-use gift may be restricted (you specify how the gift is to be used) or unrestricted (your gift will be used where the need is greatest). Your gift may be paid outright as a single installment or as a pledge payable over a specified period of time. A pledge may allow you to make a larger commitment than you originally may have thought possible.
To ensure Hephzibah’s future financial stability, we must build a strong endowment fund. As we grow and evolve, a strong endowment will make us less reliant on government funding and enable us to meet the changing needs of children and families in the years to come. To achieve this goal, we have created the Hephzibah Children’s Trust. How does the Hephzibah Children’s Trust work? When you make an endowed gift, your gift will be invested in a fund managed by the Board of the Hephzibah Children’s Trust. If you make an unrestricted gift to the Trust, your gift will be allocated to our general endowment fund. You may also create a separate endowment fund to support a program that has personal meaning for you. The interest generated by your gift will be distributed annually in accordance with the restrictions set forth at the time your gift was made. Because the principal will always be preserved, your gift will continue to generate income in perpetuity — creating a lasting legacy for the children and families of tomorrow.
How you can help There are many different ways to support Hephzibah Children’s Association, including the following options: Hephzibah Reserve Fund This unrestricted cash reserve fund will give us the liquidity and financial flexibility we need to fund rising program costs, respond to unforeseen circumstances, meet unanticipated building maintenance expenses and seize opportunities for growth and expansion in our second century.
Group Homes Fund Your gift to support our Diagnostic Treatment Center and Residence will provide vital funding for the intensive therapeutic supports needed to help traumatized children heal from past neglect and abuse.
Educational Enrichment Fund More than 80 percent of the children
referred to Hephzibah lag far behind their peers in academics due to the many disruptions in their lives. Your gift to fund intensive educational enrichment activities will help these children achieve their full academic potential.
unforgettable, shared summer camp experience for siblings living in separate group, foster or adoptive homes. Funds will also be used to support shared sibling activities throughout the year.
Family Services Fund
Your gift to this fund supports our efforts to reunite children with their biological parents and recruit and train loving foster parents. When going home isn’t an option, your generosity will also help ensure that forever families are standing by to adopt children in need.
Your gift to support our services for families in crisis enables us to help more parents who have reached the breaking point, so that they can raise their children in positive, safe and nurturing environments.
Sibling Camp and Activity Fund Your support for our innovative summer camp will help mend broken family bonds while providing an
Foster Care and Adoption Fund
Day Care Fund Your gift to support our Day Care program ensures that families of
all income levels will have access to nurturing, enriching day care and social services. Each year, private benefactors help bridge the gap between Day Care program costs and the funding we receive from government contracts and Day Care tuition fees.
Commemorative and Special-Use Funds You may wish to establish a fund to honor or memorialize someone important in your life or support a program or project that has special meaning for you. You may also choose to donate to an existing commemorative or special-use fund. We will be happy to provide a list of existing funds upon request.
“There is no trust more sacred than the one the world holds with children. There is no duty more important than ensuring that their rights are respected, that their welfare is protected, that their lives are free from fear and want and that they grow up in peace.”
Kofi Annan, UN Secretary-General
Three pathways to philanthropy Our ability to help children thrive and families flourish — now and in the future — begins with you. Please consider these ways to support our mission today or extend your support beyond your lifetime. All gifts may be made in honor or in memory of an individual, a family, a business, a corporation or a foundation. Make an outright gift.
Make a planned gift.
Endow your gift.
Support Hephzibah’s mission with an outright gift of cash, life insurance, personal property, real estate, securities or other assets. The financial benefits of an outright gift include an income tax deduction and possible elimination of capital gains tax. You may be able to claim charitable deductions of up to 50 percent of your adjusted gross income for gifts of cash in the year you make your gift. You can double—and sometimes even triple—the impact of your gift by taking advantage of your company’s matching gift program.
By making a planned gift, you can make a larger gift to Hephzibah than you might have thought possible, while realizing significant financial and tax benefits. There are many types of planned gifts, including bequests in a will or estate plan; life income gifts such as charitable gift annuities and charitable remainder trusts; and assets such as appreciated securities, real estate, personal property and retained life estates. A qualified financial, legal or tax advisor can help you select the planned gift that best fits your financial goals.
Whether your gift is outright or planned, you may endow your gift so that it lasts forever. When you make an endowed gift, your contribution is invested in the Hephzibah Children’s Trust and becomes a part of our endowment. You may give cash, securities or other assets to establish a special fund or contribute to the Trust’s already established general endowment fund. Because the principal remains intact, your gift will continue to provide a stable source of income that will help children and families for generations to come.
Your next step Thank you for your interest in Hephzibah Children’s Association. To speak directly and confidentially with our development director about Hephzibah Children’s Association giving and naming opportunities, please contact Molly Philosophos, Director of Development, at 708.649.7158 or mphilosophos@hephzibahhome.org
hephzibah ch i l dre n ’ s
946 North Boulevard
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Oak Park IL 60301
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708.649.7100
| 1144 Lake Street, 5th floor
assoc i at i o n
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Oak Park IL 60301
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708.649.7140
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hephzibahhome.org