How You Can Help

Making an Investment in Creating a Safer World
With 24 years of experience, Search for Common Ground is the largest non-governmental organization (NGO) in the world in the field of conflict transformation. We provide partnership, support and resources to a growing global network of peacebuilders. SFCG recognizes that peace building does not occur by signing a peace treaty, or through quick public relations programs. When SFCG undertakes a new project or expands into a new country it assumes that it is making a long-term commitment. Your investment in SFCG helps provide the long-term financial stability that makes these commitments viable.

Why Individual Contributions Are Important to SFCG:

Programme Development: The majority of our funding comes from government and international institutions and foundations. While essential, this support is project-specific and does not extend to research and development of new programmes. Unrestricted donations allow SFCG to assess and develop new projects and share our experiences with the world at large. Once a project is researched and planned (with unrestricted donations), we are almost always able to acquire attract institutional funding for the actual program. In this way, we leverage individuals' unrestricted gifts into large institutional grants, making the individual the essential foundation of our financial base. When we say you can make a big difference through your unrestricted donation, we mean it - your money can be leveraged to many times its original amount.

Long Term Support: The reality that we face in the international political sphere is that governments have very short-term perspectives. It takes a generation or two for a society to truly get out of a conflict-ridden situation. But government and institutional funding is vulnerable to the political winds that blow attention and interest from one project or country to another. The funding shifts as political agendas shift, leaving peace builders and the societies with whom we work with little or no support at the very time they need it most. SFCG values the different perspective of our individual investors who are not bound by political agendas or necessities. Your unrestricted investment is critically important to this work, allowing it to move forward with a long-term commitment to transform the way in which we all deal with conflict.

Your donation is tax deductible. We will send you a receipt for your records.

Need more information about us?
Visit the SFCG listing at GuideStar. GuideStar, the national database of U.S. charitable organizations, gathers and distributes data on more than 850,000 IRS-recognized nonprofits. GuideStar's mission is to revolutionize philanthropy and nonprofit practice with information.

Top

Donate Now

How to Donate online
Click here to go to our secure website to make a donation online.

How to Donate by mail
Send your contribution to: Search for Common Ground, 1601 Connecticut Ave. N.W., Suite 200, Washington, DC 20009, USA.

Memorial and In Honor Of Gifts
You may designate that your investment in the work of Search for Common Ground be in honor of a loved one, someone you respect or especially appreciate. Some people have designated Search for Common Ground as the organization they would like their family and friends to support in lieu of wedding gifts. Similarly, gifts to Search can be made as a memorial to honor a cherished friend of family member who is deceased. When making such gifts, please let Search for Common Ground know the name and address of anyone you wish to have notified of the gift, and whether you would like the amount mentioned.

Top

Donate Stock

Appreciated Stock

• If your stock has appreciated in value, it can be beneficial to transfer it directly to SFCG rather than selling it first and donating the cash, which would involve paying the capital gains tax.



• Ask your broker to contact Karen Zehr at SFCG 202.265.4300 or kzehr@sfcg.org for the transfer details.



• When you decide to transfer stock to SFCG, please contact Susan Dillon at 202.777.2231 to inform the Individual Giving Department of your donation.



• The stock owner's name is not transferred with the stock. Unless you inform us of your donation, we will have no way of knowing who transferred the stock, and therefore will not be able to thank you or send you a receipt letter for tax purposes.



• Plan to have the transfer complete before midnight December 31 if you want the donation recorded for tax purposes during this calendar year.

Depreciated Stock

• If your stock has lost value, you may prefer to sell the stock and transfer the check directly to SFCG, in order to take the loss as a tax deduction.



• Consult with your financial advisor about the best way to do this. For transfer details, call Karen Zehr at SFCG 202-265-4300 or kzehr@sfcg.org.



• Please be sure to inform SFCG that you are transferring the funds from the sale of the stock, so that we can thank you and send you a receipt letter for tax purposes.

Top

Long Term Planning

Long-term financial planning can include charitable giving. Consult your financial advisor about long-term planned gifts. For example, some possible ways to make a long-term investment in the work of SFCG include the following:

Include SFCG in your will. Bequests of cash or securities can be a convenient vehicle for making a gift. Please be specific in stating Search's exact corporate name, "Search For Common Ground" when making your bequest.

Retirement Accounts that are qualified for charitable purposes can be beneficial as a way to reduce certain retirement or inheritance taxes, as well as perpetuating any financial support you provided Search prior to retirement.

Property
Gifts of real estate or personal property can be given outright to Search or, for real property, as a life estate in which you retain use of the property or income during your lifetime.

Life Insurance
Gifts of life insurance can be made to Search when a policy is no longer financially significant to you or your family.

Top

Donate Your Car

Donate your used vehicle to Search! Through a partnership with VDAC (Vehicle Donations to Any Charity), you can make a tax deductible donation of your extra vehicle to Search. VDAC handles the towing, issues you a charitable receipt, auctions the vehicle and handles the transfer of title. You can donate online by going to http://www.v-dac.com/org/?id=521257425 or by phone by calling 866-332-1778. For information about VDAC go to http://www.v-dac.com/.

Top

Individual Giving Department
Search For Common Ground
1601 Connecticut Ave NW
Suite 200
Washington, DC 20009

Jane Shaw
Individual Giving Co-Director - NY
jshaw@sfcg.org

Philip Hellmich
Individual Giving Co-Director
202.777.2202
phellmich@sfcg.org

Susan Dillon
Individual Gift Giving Officer
202.777.2231
sdillon@sfcg.org

Top