Cradle to Graduation

Give to C2G

Giving to BASIC’s Cradle-to-Graduation (C2G) programs enables Borrego Springs learners to pursue educational opportunities at all levels.

BASIC’s C2G strategy reaches students at the turning points of their education, from cradle to graduation. It begins with early literacy, adds reading, writing and mathematics through the grades before high school, and continues afterwards through BASIC scholarships and mentoring — all at no cost to the family.

Choose where your gift goes

Every gift supports Cradle-2-Graduation. If you would like yours to go to a program, choose one and the form will follow — or give where the need is greatest and let BASIC decide.

You have started filling in the form. To change which program your gift supports, use the “Designate your gift” menu inside the form itself.

Donations are processed securely by Givebutter. Your receipt arrives from Givebutter on behalf of BASIC.

Skip the donation form — other ways to give

Tax-deductible BASIC is a 501(c)(3) charity, EIN 33-0631683.
Secure Your card details go to Givebutter’s payment processor, never to BASIC.
Transparent Our financials and filings are public — see them here.
Effective Every gift funds books, summer learning and scholarships — where donations go.

Other ways to give

Not every gift arrives through a form. Whichever way you choose, it reaches Borrego Springs students the same — and you will hear from us.

Prefer to give by check?

Make checks payable to Basic Assistance to Students in the Community (BASIC) and mail to:

BASIC
P.O. Box 1914
Borrego Springs, CA 92004-1914

To direct your gift to a particular program, note it on the memo line. For a receipt or any question about a gift by mail, write to contactus@borregobasic99.wpenginepowered.com.

Shop local, support students

Support BASIC while you shop local by dropping your spare change — or a few dollars — into our donation boxes at businesses around Borrego Springs. Your gifts help provide books, scholarships, summer learning, and other opportunities for Borrego Springs students and families. We are grateful to these local businesses for hosting our boxes; please thank them when you visit and support their shops.

Find BASIC donation boxes at:

Borrego Outfitters
Kendall’s Cafe
Mirage Gas
Desert Pantry Market
Jessica Hair Salon
Center Market
XL Gas
Bighorn Fudge Company
Los Jilberto’s Taco Shop
True Value
Michael’s in Borrego

Tax-smart and legacy gifts

Some gifts do more for you and for BASIC than a check — shares that have grown, a retirement account, a donor-advised fund, or a place in your estate. Each one starts with a single email. Open any of them for the details.

Gift of stock or securities Give appreciated shares and skip the capital-gains tax.

Donating stock, mutual-fund shares or other securities you have held for more than a year lets you deduct their full market value without paying capital-gains tax on the growth — often a larger gift to BASIC at a lower cost to you than selling first.

To do it: Ask your broker about transferring shares to BASIC, and contact us to arrange it. Email us.
IRA charitable distribution Age 70½ or older? Give straight from your IRA, tax-free.

If you are 70½ or older, you can direct a gift from a traditional IRA to BASIC — up to the IRS annual limit, which is over $100,000 per person and adjusted each year. A qualified charitable distribution is not counted as taxable income, and it counts toward your required minimum distribution if you have one.

To do it: Ask your IRA custodian to send the distribution directly to BASIC, and contact us for the details they will need. Email us.
Donor-advised fund Recommend a grant to BASIC from your DAF.

If you give through a donor-advised fund — at Fidelity Charitable, Schwab Charitable, Vanguard Charitable, a community foundation or elsewhere — you can recommend a grant to BASIC at any time. The deduction was yours when you funded the account.

To do it: Recommend a grant to Basic Assistance to Students in the Community, EIN 33-0631683, and let us know it is coming. Email us.
A gift in your will or trust Leave a bequest — any amount, or a percentage.

A bequest is the simplest way to leave a lasting mark on Borrego Springs students. Name BASIC in your will or living trust for a set amount, a percentage of your estate, or whatever remains after other gifts — or name BASIC as a beneficiary of a retirement account or life-insurance policy, which takes only a form from the plan administrator.

To do it: Your attorney can use this language: “I give [amount or percentage] to Basic Assistance to Students in the Community (BASIC), a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, EIN 33-0631683, P.O. Box 1914, Borrego Springs, CA 92004, for its general purposes.” If you have included BASIC, we would love to know — and to thank you. Email us.
Charitable gift annuity Fixed payments to you for life, then a gift to BASIC.

A charitable gift annuity turns a gift of cash or securities into guaranteed fixed payments for the rest of your life, part of them tax-free, with a deduction now and the remainder going to BASIC afterward. Annuities are usually set up through a community foundation or your financial advisor.

To do it: Contact us to get started. Email us.
Your car, truck, boat or RV BASIC now has its own vehicle donation program — free pickup, and the proceeds become scholarships.

A vehicle you are done with can become books and scholarships. BASIC’s vehicle donation program is run for us by CARS — Charitable Adult Rides & Services, the 501(c)(3) behind careasy.org that handles vehicle donations for thousands of nonprofits. Cars, trucks, motorcycles, RVs, campers, boats, trailers and farm equipment are all accepted, running or not, so long as the vehicle is in one piece and a tow truck can reach it.

Pickup is free, in all fifty states, and usually happens within 24 to 72 hours. You get a receipt when the vehicle is collected; once it is auctioned — typically within four to twelve weeks — a thank-you letter follows for your taxes, along with an IRS Form 1098-C if it was auctioned for more than $500. The proceeds, after the costs of towing and auction, come to BASIC.

To do it: Start on BASIC’s own page at careasy.org, which credits the donation to us automatically. If you call CARS instead, on 855-500-RIDE (7433), you must tell them the vehicle is for “Basic Assistance to Students in the Community, in Borrego Springs” — they run that line for thousands of nonprofits. More about the program.

Donate a vehicle to BASIC
In honor or in memory Celebrate someone, or remember them, with a gift in their name.

A tribute gift marks a birthday, a graduation, a retirement or a life. Tell us who it honors and who should hear about it, and we will send them a card letting them know a gift was made in that name — the amount stays between us.

To do it: Choose “Give in honor/memory” in the form above, or note it on the memo line of a check. Email us.

These are summaries, not tax or legal advice — your own advisor can tell you what fits your situation. Questions about any of them? Write to contactus@borregobasic99.wpenginepowered.com.

Where do donations go?

For our elementary and middle school students, your support helps provide high-quality instruction, enrichment, meals, supplies, and the many program elements that make these summer learning opportunities possible. For high school and college students, donations go toward the scholarships that carry them through — awarded to students who need them and who stay in good academic standing.

BASIC — Basic Assistance to Students in the Community — is a charitable 501(c)(3) organization. EIN 33-0631683. Within the limits prescribed by law, your contribution is tax deductible.