We rely on your support and donations to keep the IFC classes free for our friends. Everyone can join our activities for free or at-cost. We want to remove as much of the financial barrier as possible for our international friends and families to join.
The International Friendship Center is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Your donations are tax deductible, and we do not publish donor lists.
You can use this form to give immediately! We would love for you to sign up to give on a monthly basis. It helps us ensure ongoing support of our classes and programs. You can also make a one-time gift.
You can use a credit card, or you can also set up a bank transfer which incurs a smaller processing fee. You can also use this form to donate with PayPal if you already have an account.
This is always a great way to donate! Please write your check to International Friendship Center and mail it to the following address. Note that this mailing address is different from where we hold our in-person classes.
International Friendship Center
14 Star Fire Ct
Madison, WI 53719
Most banks support using Zelle to transfer money without any cost to you or the IFC. This is a great way to avoid fees! If you are interested in sending money to the IFC via Zelle, you can add the IFC as a contact using our email address ifc@madisonifc.org and send your donation. For more information on Zelle, you can visit www.zellepay.com.
We have an Amazon Wishlist where you can purchase supplies that we will use at the IFC! We will keep the list updated with supplies that we use for in-person classes as well as cultural events and activities. These supplies only represent a small number of supplies that we rely on to keep the program going, but every little bit helps!
If you have an account with Thrivent, you can make a personal donation from your account easily since the IFC is listed as one of their charitable organizations. In addition, if you meet the eligibility requirements, you can cast your vote on how Thrivent directs its grant program Choice Dollars® to give to charitable organizations. We ask that you make the International Friendship Center your choice to receive these grant dollars! It’s a simple process to designate the IFC as the recipient. Please make your selection by the deadline of March 31.
Visit Thrivent.com/thriventchoice and use the online tools to select “International Friendship Center Inc.”
Call 800-847-4836 and when prompted, say “Thrivent Choice.” Follow the instructions and prompts.
For more information, you can visit the Thrivent Choice FAQ page.
You may be in a position where you can consider giving portions of your retirement fund distributions to charity or even designate charities as beneficiaries of your estate. What a blessing to be in such a spot! There are so many options when it comes to gift planning that maximize the benefits to your loved ones and the charities that you hold dear to your heart. We invite you to consider the IFC in your plans and encourage you to discuss this more with your financial planner or retirement fund administrator, but we will highlight a few great ways you can support the IFC.
Our EIN is 87-1429012 and entity name is INTERNATIONAL FRIENDSHIP CENTER INC.
At any time, you have the opportunity to gift appreciated securities to the IFC. One of the biggest benefits of this is that you avoid having to pay capital gains tax while still getting the full tax deduction. For example, if you have some stock that you purchased 20 years ago at $5,000 that has grown to a value of $10,000, you can gift that stock to the IFC at the current market value. You are credited for gifting $10,000, and the IFC does not pay capital gains tax based on the original $5,000 purchase price. It’s a wonderful way to take full advantage of the growth of your investments without you or the IFC having to pay capital gains on the original purchase price!
Depending on your situation and how your securities are held, you may be able to take advantage of other benefits, such as offsetting your required minimum distribution. Again, we encourage you to discuss more with your financial planner to make the best decision for you.
This option is available for those of you who are 70-½ and older and have an IRA. You have the option to directly give your required minimum distribution (RMD) to a charity. This is also called a qualified charitable distribution (QCD). The great benefit of this is your direct gift does not add towards your taxable income, and the charity is not taxed on the distribution.
An RMD is a wonderful way to support the IFC, especially if you are in a position where you and your family do not need the additional income from your IRA fund. You could also choose to gift a portion of the entire RMD rather than the full amount!
As you consider how to bless your loved ones, we would love for you to consider blessing the IFC and other charities as part of your will and/or other estate planning. It is an important discussion of gifting and legacy that we encourage you to have with your financial planner. How you decide to designate your assets can have significant tax implications. These are discussions that you may want to have with trustees of your estate as well so that your wishes and desires are best executed.
There are various tax implications when gifting different asset types. If you desire to designate specific loved ones or charities as direct beneficiaries of your life insurance or retirement funds, consider for example that charities do not pay income tax on bequeathed retirement accounts, whereas your loved ones would be subject to income tax and potentially estate tax as well. The single or double taxation on the distribution can significantly reduce its intended value. Furthermore, bequeathing appreciated stock to a loved one can be very advantageous because of how the cost basis resets.
There’s so much to consider! We encourage you to work with your financial planner to maximize your estate plans. Please don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions or to let us know that you are considering us in your planned giving. We would love to hear more about your plans and help in any way that we can!
