Endow KY Tax Credit

ensuring a strong future


Your gift to an endowed fund at Horizon Community Funds helps the nonprofits that serve our Northern Kentucky community build for the future. Your donation also allows you to leverage the gifts of others through a pooled endowed fund.

The Endow Kentucky Tax Credit Program offers you a unique opportunity to receive a state tax credit toward your Kentucky Income Tax (individual, corporate, or limited liability) after making a contribution to permanent endowment funds at Horizon Community Funds. Endowment funds are for those who want to give today and long into the future, as they are held in perpetuity and produce an annual payout.

A total of $1,000,000 in tax credits is available to taxpayers, individuals, and corporations through the Endow Kentucky Tax Credit Program. You are eligible to receive up to a 20% income tax credit (not to exceed $10,000 per individual/entity or $20,000 per married couple filing jointly) for your endowed gift per taxable year. A new allotment of tax credits is available on July 1 each year.

Your gift to an endowed fund lasts well into the future. It is a building block on which our nonprofits build their services in Northern Kentucky.

HOW DOES THE TAX CREDIT IMPACT YOU?

To determine the personal impact of receiving your tax credit, you should consult your financial advisor or accountant. Any tax credit that cannot be used in the current tax year may be carried forward for five years. This is a tax credit, which lowers your tax bill dollar for dollar regardless of your tax bracket. Federal and state deductions also apply for these gifts in addition to this tax credit.

WHAT GIFTS QUALIFY FOR THE ENDOW KENTUCKY TAX CREDIT?

Gifts of cash or appreciated assets must be made to a qualified community foundation, like Horizon Community Funds. Gifts to non-endowed funds do not qualify for the Endow Kentucky Tax Credit.

Your gift may be made to any of the funds at Horizon Community Funds that are listed below (no minimum gift required), or you can establish a new endowment to support your preferred Kentucky nonprofit organization, or educational or religious institution. The minimum contribution to open a new endowed charitable fund is $25,000. The minimum to establish an endowed scholarship fund is $50,000.

leveraging your endow ky tax credit

We currently partner with many Northern Kentucky-serving nonprofit entities and causes to operate their endowed funds:

  • Alliance for Catholic Urban Education
  • ArtsWave
  • Aviatra Accelerators, Inc.
  • BAWAC, Serving Adults with Disabilities
  • Be Concerned
  • Beechwood School
  • Behringer-Crawford
  • Bill & Betsy Scheben Care Center
  • Boone Conservancy
  • Boone County Public Library Foundation
  • Brain Injury Alliance of NKY
  • Brighton Center
  • Campbell Conservancy
  • Campbell County Historical Society
  • CancerFree Kids
  • Care Net Pregnancy Services of NKY
  • Catholic Charities, Diocese of Covington
  • CHNK Behavioral Health
  • Community Impact Fund
  • Covington Business Council
  • Covington Education Foundation
  • Crescent Ridge Academy
  • Dan Beard Council
  • DCCH Center
  • Dinsmore Homestead Foundation
  • Easterseals Redwood
  • EC Learn
  • Emergency Shelter of Northern Kentucky
  • Enzweiler Building Institute
  • Faith Community Pharmacy
  • Family Nurturing Center
  • Fort Thomas Education Foundation
  • Freestore Foodbank
  • Friends of Boone County Arboretum
  • Gateway Community and Technical College
  • Girl Scouts of Kentucky’s Wilderness Road
  • Gloria Dei Lutheran Church Foundation
  • GO Pantry
  • Heritage NKY Fund
  • Ignite Institute
  • Ion Center for Violence Prevention
  • Jordan G. McFaull Scholarship Fund
  • Kenton County Public Library Foundation
  • Learning Grove
  • Licking River Conservation and Greenway
  • Life Learning Center
  • Magnified Giving
  • Mary Ann Noll Scholarship Fund
  • Master Provisions
  • McGraw SOAR Scholarship Fund
  • Meals on Wheels
  • Mike Farrell/Northern Kentucky Tribune Scholarship Fund
  • New Perceptions, Inc.
  • NKY Trail Fund
  • Northern Kentucky Children’s Advocacy Center
  • Northern Kentucky Community Action Commission
  • Northern Kentucky Entrepreneur Fund
  • Northern Kentucky University
  • Notre Dame Academy
  • Partners for Change
  • Riverfront Commons
  • St. Cecilia School, Independence
  • St. Elizabeth Healthcare Cancer Care Institute
  • Vincent de Paul NKY
  • Tattoo Removal Ink
  • The Carnegie
  • The Kenton Conservancy
  • The Victorian at Riverside
  • Thomas More University
  • Transitions, Inc.
  • Villa Madonna Academy
  • Welcome House of Northern Kentucky
  • World Affairs Council
  • YMCA of Greater Cincinnati

Gifts may also be made to the Community Impact Fund at Horizon Community Funds, which supports nonprofit organizations and charitable needs in Boone, Campbell, and Kenton Counties.

HOW TO APPLY FOR THE ENDOW KENTUCKY TAX CREDIT

Please use the following steps to ensure you receive your Endow Kentucky Tax Credit:

  1. File an application for preliminary authorization of the tax credit with the Kentucky Department of Revenue.

  2. After completing the approved preliminary authorization form, please email a copy to Nancy Grayson at ngrayson@horizonfunds.org. Please keep a copy for your records. Horizon Community Funds will submit your application as a courtesy when the application window opens on July 1. Timeliness is critical as these tax credits have been completely allocated during the first week of July historically.

  3. Within 30 days of receiving the approval letter from the Kentucky Department of Revenue, you must make the contribution to an endowed fund at Horizon Community Funds of Northern Kentucky.

  4. Within 10 days of making the gift, Horizon Community Funds will send proof of the gift to the Kentucky Department of Revenue by filing the Notice of Endow Kentucky Tax Credit and Certification form. The Department of Revenue will then review the provided proof and issue a letter of final approval to you as the donor.