Ways to Give
With your commitment to justice and your charitable investment through the Maine Justice Foundation, we can increase funding for programs for legal aid that help the most needy of Maine residents who face life-altering civil legal issues. Unfortunately, about 90 percent of people who qualify for civil legal aid can’t get it because the resources are severely limited.
YOU can provide a critical safety net through your endowment at the Maine Justice Foundation. Join with us to ensure civil legal aid for Maine’s most vulnerable people now and for decades to come.
Gifts to the Maine Justice Foundation can be mailed to:
Maine Justice Foundation
124 State Street, Suite 2
Augusta, ME 04330
The Maine Justice Foundation has been awarded a coveted four-star rating by Charity Navigator! Charity Navigator rates over 160,000 U.S. nonprofits based on their financial health, efficiency, governance and transparency. We are proud to have earned their highest rating. Learn more here about Charity Navigator and their rating criteria.
Types of Gifts
Gifts of Cash
Your gift of cash made with a check or credit card is the easiest way for you to give.
Real Estate
Your real estate property can be an exceptional gift that offers you tax benefits. You can make an outright gift of real estate. Please contact us to discuss options for a gift of real estate.
Gifts of Stock
Gifts of stock offer you more benefits than giving cash. With gifts of publicly traded stocks and bonds, you can claim a federal income tax charitable deduction for the full appreciated value of the securities. You will pay no capital gains tax on the transaction. Please speak with your attorney or financial advisor for further information about tax benefits of gifts of publicly traded securities.
Tangible Property
Your valuable artwork, books, equipment, or other tangible personal property can result in a charitable deduction and a valuable gift to the Foundation. Please contact us to discuss options for a gift of artwork or other tangible property of value.
Types of Endowment Funds
Unrestricted: Distributions from the fund will be determined through the Foundation’s grants review process, which is managed by the Grants Committee of the Board of Directors.
Field of Interest: You may identify an area of interest, e.g., geographic area, specific population, types of services, legal issues, for which grants will be made.
Designated: You designate the Foundation or specific non-profit organization(s) that provide(s) legal or other services, consistent with the Foundation’s mission, to receive the annual distribution from the fund.
View Our Existing Funds
The minimum amount to start an endowed fund is $100,000 and is subject to approval from the Maine Justice Foundation (“MJF”) Board. The current spending policy, which is set by the MJF Board, determines the amount of distribution each year.
Advancing Justice Through the Campaign for Justice
The six providers that the Campaign for Justice supports provide legal assistance to an average of 30,000 adults and children annually.
That means over a quarter million Maine people have been helped since 2004 when the Campaign was founded.
“Charity sees the need, not the cause.”
German ProverbA Gift Through Your Will Or Trust
Gifts through your will or trust (bequests), allow you to make a sizeable gift after your lifetime without impacting your income now. These are wonderful legacy gifts that will honor your commitment to justice for generations to come. These gifts can be easy to make, such as adding simple language to your will or making the Foundation the beneficiary of a retirement account or life insurance policy.
Sample Bequest Language to Use
“I give and bequeath to The Maine Justice Foundation, a nonprofit corporation (EIN # 22-2559133), located at 124 State Street, Suite 2 Augusta, Maine 04330, or its successor [a sum of money, percentage of my estate, or description of the gift].
- To add to an existing fund at The Maine Justice Foundation: "I request that this gift be added to the (name of fund) Fund.”
- To create a new fund at The Maine Justice Foundation: "I request that this gift be used to establish a new fund (name of fund) to support (name nonprofit, field of interest, unrestricted grant making or operations of the Foundation) in accordance with the Articles of Incorporation creating The Maine Justice Foundation, as now or hereafter amended.”
- PLEASE CONTACT YOUR ESTATE ATTORNEY FOR ASSISTANCE IN MAKING A GIFT TO THE MAINE JUSTICE FOUNDATION IN YOUR WILL OR TRUST.
Life Insurance Policies
You can make the Foundation owner and beneficiary of a life insurance policy.
Change Of Beneficiary Form
Name the Maine Justice Foundation as a beneficiary of a part or all of your bank accounts, brokerage account, or certificates of deposit.
Retirement Plans
During Your Lifetime
If you are age 70½ or older you can make tax-free gifts totaling up to $100,000 from your traditional IRA account directly to qualified charities.
Estate Distributions
Name the Maine Justice Foundation as a percentage or full beneficiary of your traditional IRA or other retirement plan. Be sure to consult with your plan administrator or your financial advisor before making any changes in the distribution of your retirement plan.
Donor Privacy Policy and Donor Bill of Rights
Donor Privacy Policy adopted by the foundation’s Board of Directors on January 26, 2018:
Donor Privacy Policy
A. Anonymity: Upon your request, the foundation will keep your gift and/or status as a donor anonymous. The foundation reserves the right to publish your name on a list of donors unless you request anonymity. The foundation reserves the discretion to disclose the receipt of an anonymous gift, the amount of the gift, and any restricted purpose attached to the gift.
B. Removal: Upon your request, the foundation will promptly remove you from our mailing list and will not contact you.
C. Use/Sharing of Your Information: The foundation does not sell, trade, or share your name or any contact information with any other organization. The foundation will only release your personal information if required by law.
D. Online donations: We do not electronically or in any other way store your credit card information.
E. To change your information or ask questions about our data and donor policy: Contact: Development Director, Maine Justice Foundation, 40 Water Street, Hallowell, ME 04347; (207) 622-3477.
F. This privacy policy will be posted and updated on justicemaine.org.
The Donor Bill of Rights
Philanthropy is based on voluntary action for the common good. It is a tradition of giving and sharing that is primary to the quality of life. To assure that philanthropy merits the respect and trust of the general public, and that donors and prospective donors can have full confidence in the not-for-profit organizations and causes they are asked to support, we declare that all donors have these rights:
I. To be informed of the organization's mission, of the way the organization intends to use donated resources, and of its capacity to use donations effectively for their intended purposes.
II. To be informed of the identity of those serving on the organization's governing board, and to expect the board to exercise prudent judgment in its stewardship responsibilities.
III. To have access to the organization's most recent financial statements.
IV. To be assured their gifts will be used for the purposes for which they were given.
V. To receive appropriate acknowledgement and recognition.
VI. To be assured that information about their donation is handled with respect and with confidentiality to the extent provided by law.
VII. To expect that all relationships with individuals representing organizations of interest to the donor will be professional in nature.
VIII. To be informed whether those seeking donations are volunteers, employees of the organization or hired solicitors.
IX. To have the opportunity for their names to be deleted from mailing lists that an organization may intend to share.
X. To feel free to ask questions when making a donation and to receive prompt, truthful and forthright answers.
Donor Bill of Rights: 2017, Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), all rights reserved. Reprinted with permission from the Association of Fundraising Professionals.