Published: November 05, 2008 03:21 pm            

Gifts of Grain

First-year program offers tax advantage for farmers' charitable gifts to hospital

By PAUL LORENZ

paul.lorenz@mcleansborotimesleader.com

McLEANSBORO — A first-year charitable program here allows farmers to reduce their own tax liability while financially supporting their local hospital district.

Gifts of Grain is a “win-win” situation for farmers, members of Hamilton Memorial Hospital District Foundation’s Agribusiness Committee say.

Through Gifts of Grain, farmers can donate bushels of grain, a specific dollar amount from the sale of grain or a cash gift, according to foundation literature. The grain elevator which handles the transaction will send a check directly to the hospital district.

With the donation, farmers “lower their tax liability but still can take a deduction from the production costs” of the donated grain, committee member Shelly Allen said.

And farmers don’t have to file the “long form” to take this charitable contribution, Deborah McKinney Huff, Hamilton Memorial’s director of marketing/public relations, said.

“This is the first real tool we’ve had that is an opportunity for giving that is not a burden on farmers,” McKinney Huff said.

Gifts of Grain is also flexible regarding how farmers make the donation.

“They can make a pledge and then make their payment when they sell” their grain, Allen said.

Allen and committee member Bobbin Lasater both have ties to Hamilton Memorial, and both feel strongly about its role in the community.

Lasater, who farms with husband Kenny in Hamilton County, also worked 23 years in the local hospital’s radiology department.

“My heart and soul is with the hospital, and it’s important to have a hospital in the community,” Lasater said. “This is a wonderful way for farmers to show their support of the hospital.”

Allen, who with husband Russell owns a trucking business, Allen Trucking, said their business does a lot of work for the hospital, “not just because we want the work but because the hospital is important to us.”

Anyone considering a “gift of grain” should consult their accountant before making a decision, McKinney Huff said.

A $2 million capital campaign in support of the hospital’s ongoing $18.5 million expansion project is currently at 71 percent of its goal, McKinney Huff said.

And Gifts of Grain has accounted for more than $80,000 in pledges toward the capital campaign since the program’s start-up in January, Allen said.

But Gifts of Grain “is not going to go away when the hospital is finished,” she added, and Lasater agreed.

“I think this will be a long-term program,” she said.



GETTING INVOLVED

Hamilton Memorial Hospital District Foundation’s Agribusiness Committee is looking to expand its membership; the committee also is seeking input from the farming community regarding informational meetings which it plans to hold.

Anyone interested in becoming a committee member or providing input on the informational meetings may contact Deborah McKinney Huff, Hamilton Memorial’s director of marketing/public relations, at 643-2361, Ext. 213.

        

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