Yes you are a philanthropist, making giving easy, and tax trends to watch

Hello from the community foundation! 

Lately we’ve been inspired by philanthropy in all its forms, ranging from volunteering and serving on boards to donating canned goods or giving a few dollars to a school fundraiser. Our community is full of people who care about lifting up others and improving the quality of life for everyone who lives in this wonderful place we call home.

In that spirit, we’re sharing a few updates that we hope will help you celebrate all the good you are doing and stay informed about developments that might inform your charitable giving plans.

–Everyone can be a philanthropist! Whether you give your time, talent, or treasure, the fact that you care about others is what matters. Whatever causes and charities you support, the community foundation is here for you. When the time is right, please reach out to our team to learn more about all the ways we can help you can get started on your own charitable giving journey.

–When individuals, families, and companies begin working with the community foundation, one of the most common pleasant surprises is just how easy it is. From personalized service delivered by real people who have deep expertise, to a variety of simple-to-establish fund types to meet your charitable goals, the community foundation offers a charitable giving experience that is as uncomplicated as it is rewarding. 

–There’s a lot happening on the national legislative scene! The community foundation is paying close attention to potential tax law changes that could impact charitable giving strategies. Our insights are designed to help you sort through the abundance of media coverage about proposed legislation and better understand how it might apply to your own philanthropy. 

Thank you for all you do to make our community better. We look forward to our next conversation! 

–Your community foundation 

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Yes, you are a philanthropist!

by Staff Name, Director of Charitable Giving

“Philanthropist” is a big word that often conjures up images of the ultra-wealthy making big donations to charities, especially when people like Bill Gates have been in the headlines lately. But the definition is much broader than that. Merriam-Webster defines “philanthropist” as “one who makes an active effort to promote human welfare.”

Anyone can be a philanthropist. That’s certainly the spirit behind the community foundation’s mission to improve quality of life in our region.

People get started in philanthropy in many ways. Here are just a few:

—Personal experience with a charity, such as a receiving social services, mentoring, or health care 

—Volunteering for a charity, such as packing backpacks for school kids, sorting clothing at a shelter, or serving meals at a community kitchen 

—Attending community events 

—Donating canned goods for a food drive 

—Purchasing products that support a cause or school fundraiser 

—Serving in a governance or leadership role, such as on a fundraising committee or a charity’s board of directors

From there, many people take the next step to get even more involved by providing financial support, including:

—Making a donation online to support disaster relief 

—Rounding up at check out 

—Responding to online or direct mail fundraisers with a credit card donation or check

—Donating to a giving circle or other fund at the community foundation 

Along your journey, the community foundation team is here for you as a sounding board and a resource. Many people decide to establish a fund at the community foundation after several years of informal giving. A donor-advised fund in particular can be useful to organize giving to multiple charities and streamline tax reporting. 

For inspiration, consider the recently-released TIME100 Philanthropy 2025 which highlights a diverse array of individuals making a difference—from billionaires like Warren Buffett and MacKenzie Scott to community leaders, activists, and innovators who leverage their unique skills, platforms, and resources to drive change. This broad representation demonstrates that impactful giving is not limited to those with vast fortunes; anyone can contribute meaningfully, whether through money, time, expertise, or advocacy.  

Indeed, many on the list are recognized for aligning their philanthropic efforts with personal passions or areas where they can make a unique impact, such as Dolly Parton’s focus on literacy, José Andrés’ humanitarian food relief, and Billie Jean King’s advocacy for women in sports. What’s more, the rise of collective giving, strategic philanthropy, and new collaborative funding models make it easier for people to pool resources and maximize impact.

Please reach out anytime, wherever you are along your philanthropic journey. The community foundation is here to help everyone make a difference at every level of wealth and background.

“It’s so easy”: How the community foundation makes giving such a pleasure

by Staff Name, Director of Charitable Giving

As individuals, families, and businesses get more involved in charitable giving, it’s not uncommon to become overwhelmed with all the options for supporting favorite charities. Plus, it can be hard to know what really makes a difference.

The community foundation is here to help make charitable giving easy, flexible, and effective. Our team loves hearing comments that often reflect pleasant surprises when people get started working with the community foundation to make a difference in our region’s quality of life. Here are a few examples:

“We had no idea that the paperwork to set up a fund would be so straightforward. Had we known our family fund could be set up in less than an hour, we would have done it a long time ago.” 

“In this day and age of 1-800 numbers and online chatbots, it has been such a refreshing change to have a real life conversation with knowledgeable professionals. I know I can ask any question and get a fast and friendly response that goes above and beyond my expectations.” 

“We feel so good about being part of a large, diverse, local, family of giving. We love knowing that we are ‘in this together’ with other donors who are supporting their own favorite causes and it all rolls up to the collective good for our community.” 

These comments are heartwarming—and they are also based in reality. That’s because community foundations are designed to make charitable giving straightforward and impactful for donors by providing expert guidance, streamlined processes, and a high level of flexibility. 

One of the most significant ways we simplify the giving process is by handling all administrative and tax-related details. For example, when you make a single contribution of appreciated stock to a donor-advised fund to support all your annual giving, you receive a single tax receipt for the gift, regardless of how many grants are made from that fund to various nonprofits throughout the year. This eliminates the need for multiple receipts and simplifies tax reporting, making it easier for you to document deductions and keep your records organized. Additionally, the community foundation provides written acknowledgments for gifts and handles all necessary IRS documentation, further reducing the administrative burden on you and your family. 

Another key advantage is the community foundation’s ability to accept a wide range of assets as charitable gifts, including not only cash or marketable securities, but also complex assets such as real estate, closely-held business interests, mineral rights, retirement accounts, life insurance policies, and even agricultural assets. This flexibility helps ensure that you can support your favorite causes in the most tax-efficient way possible.

Whether you are considering a new gift, planning a legacy, or simply seeking advice on maximizing the impact of your philanthropy, the community foundation provides ongoing support and local expertise. We simplify the legwork so you can focus on the joy and meaning of giving and the positive difference you are making in the lives of others. Please reach out to the community foundation team anytime! 

Tax laws, what’s pending, and charitable giving solutions

by Staff Name, Director of Charitable Giving

Whether you’ve supported a fund at the community foundation, established your own fund, or are considering whether to get involved, it’s important to know that the team at the community foundation keeps a watchful eye on tax law changes that could impact your plans for charitable giving.  

You’ve probably seen a lot of news about the so-called "Big Beautiful Bill” (H.R. 1), which passed the House of Representatives by a narrow 215-214 vote on May 22, 2025. The bill now heads to the Senate, where it’s expected to undergo significant changes before anything becomes final. The main point to keep in mind is that nothing is set in stone yet, and it’s impossible to know exactly how these tax law changes might affect you and your charitable giving until the process is complete.

Our team is happy to help you think about how you might update your charitable giving plans whether or not certain provisions in the proposed legislation are enacted into law. 

For example, many people include provisions in their estate plans to continue supporting the causes they championed during their lifetimes. They like the idea of leaving a legacy to improve the quality of life in our community across generations. Next time you’re considering an update to your estate plan, please reach out. The community foundation team is happy to work with you and your advisors to structure a legacy gift that is meaningful to both you and the community you love. 

Related to legacy giving, it’s important to note that although the federal estate tax applies to a relatively small percentage of taxpayers, the impact can be significant (currently the top rate is 40%). If the total value of your assets (including real estate, investments, retirement accounts, business interests, life insurance you own, and personal property) exceeds $13.99 million as an individual, or $27.98 million as a married couple, the estate tax could be an issue for you. You’re likely aware that higher estate tax exemption enacted under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) is set to sunset at the end of this year, but under the proposed legislation, the increased exemption would become permanent. If you’re nevertheless still anticipating the possibility of a taxable estate, incorporating a gift to a fund at the community foundation in your estate plan can help reduce the tax’s impact.

Of course, people don’t give to charity just for tax reasons. Whether or not you expect to wind up with a taxable estate, the community foundation can help you achieve your goals for making a difference in our community for years to come.

Another provision in the proposed legislation that might have caught your attention relates to the standard deduction. The bill would maintain the higher standard deduction levels from the TCJA and even add a temporary increase through 2028. As a result, fewer taxpayers would itemize deductions, which means fewer people would be able to claim a charitable deduction (although most people don’t support charities solely to get a tax deduction). The bill also introduces a modest “above-the-line” charitable deduction for nonitemizers in the amount of $150 for individuals and $300 for joint filers.

Finally, the bill would sharply raise excise taxes on the investment income of large private foundations, with rates going up from 1.39% to as much as 10% for the largest foundations. Foundations with less than $50 million in assets would not see any change. Remember that the community foundation offers alternatives to private foundations, including donor-advised funds, that allow you to support your favorite charities and address important local needs.

So what’s next? The Senate is expected to start reviewing the bill in June, and the process could stretch into July or August as both the House and Senate work out their differences before sending the bill to President Trump for signature. We’ll keep you updated as this develops. If you have questions or want to talk about your charitable giving options, please reach out. Our team is here to help you support the causes you care about and address community needs in the most effective ways possible, no matter what happens to tax laws.

The team at the community foundation is honored to serve as a resource and sounding board as you build your charitable plans and pursue your philanthropic objectives for making a difference in the community. This newsletter is provided for informational purposes only. It is not intended as legal, accounting, or financial planning advice. Please consult your tax or legal advisor to learn how this information might apply to your own situation.

Charitable giving FAQs, step-up in basis, and (potentially) expanded QCD rules

Hello from the community foundation! 

If you’ve already established a donor-advised fund or other type of fund at the community foundation, thank you! It’s our honor to work with you to achieve your charitable goals. If you’re considering getting started working with the community foundation, thank you for exploring it! We welcome a conversation to learn more about the difference you’d like to make in our region, whether through lifetime giving, a gift in your will or trust, or a combination of both. The community foundation is your home for all forms of charitable giving.

Our team is committed to regularly sharing updates and information that can help you and your family along your philanthropic journey, including timely topics that are on the minds of many during the volatile first few months of 2025. 

–You may be wondering whether stock or cash is a better gift this year to your donor-advised fund or other type of fund at the community foundation. It’s smart to ask the question! The community foundation is happy to work with you and your advisors to evaluate what’s best for your own situation. 

–A lot of donors and fund holders ask our team about the “step-up in basis” and how it factors into charitable planning. It’s an especially important principle as you evaluate which assets to leave to your fund at the community foundation in your will, trust, or via beneficiary designation. Our team is happy to demystify this for you!

–If you’re over 70 ½, you’re likely aware of a helpful charitable giving tool called a Qualified Charitable Distribution, or QCD. You’ll be glad to know that recently-proposed legislation would expand the types of eligible charities to receive QCDs to include donor-advised funds. Fingers crossed! 

Thank you so much for the opportunity to work together! It is truly our honor and pleasure.

–Your community foundation 

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Uncertain times: FAQs about charitable giving

by Staff Name, Director of Charitable Giving

Economic turbulence, inflation concerns, and a general sense of financial instability have made 2025 very challenging for a lot of people. As you consider how to support your favorite charities this year, take a moment to evaluate which assets may be best suited for your donations. In particular, the choice between giving cash or appreciated stock can have a meaningful impact on both your finances and the charities you support. The team at the community foundation is here to help answer your questions, including a few that are very common this year:

Should I give stock?

If you are concerned about preserving cash right now, then donating appreciated, publicly-traded stock can be a highly effective strategy. By transferring long-term, marketable securities directly to a donor-advised or other type of fund at the community foundation, you avoid capital gains tax and may be eligible for an income tax deduction based on the fair market value of the securities. The community foundation, in turn, can sell the securities without incurring tax, maximizing the dollars available to support your favorite charities. Even in a down market, many investors still hold stocks that have appreciated over time, making this a win-win for both you and the causes you care about.

Should I give cash?

If your investment portfolio has declined significantly across the board, you may prefer to contribute cash this year. Doing so allows your investments time to recover, potentially increasing their value for future charitable gifts. Contributing cash to your fund at the community foundation allows you to organize your giving in one place, making it easier to gather tax information when April 15 rolls around next year. 

How can my donor-advised fund help in challenging times for our community?

Donor-advised funds offer flexibility for your charitable giving, particularly in unpredictable market conditions. By contributing to a donor-advised fund, you receive an immediate tax deduction and can recommend grants over time, allowing you to support your favorite organizations even when your personal finances are in flux. Many people like having a reserve of charitable funds that enables them to maintain consistent support for the causes they love, regardless of market ups and downs.

What else should I consider as I plan my charitable support this year?

Giving strategically in uncertain times is important to help stabilize the charities in our community and allow them to continue to support people in need. The community foundation can help you formalize long-term commitments while also ensuring that immediate needs are addressed. Maintaining support for the organizations you care about ensures their continued impact, even when resources are tight. 

The team at the community foundation is here to help you make a difference in our community as economic pressures mount. Please reach out to discuss the best options to achieve your charitable goals, even in a year as unpredictable as this one.

Comparing two scenarios: Why the step-up in basis matters

by Staff Name, Director of Charitable Giving

As you’ve watched the news about potential tax reform, a principle known as the “step-up in basis” might have caught your attention. Over the years, from time to time, draft legislation has proposed that this principle be changed or eliminated. Although tax law changes to eliminate the step-up in basis are not part of recently-introduced “death tax repeal” legislation, it’s still a good idea to be aware of the potential implications on the charitable giving strategies in your estate plan.

The tax principle of "step-up in basis" means that the cost basis of inherited assets will be reset to their fair market value at the time of the owner's death, effectively erasing any capital gains that accrued during lifetime. You and your advisors might have discussed this principle in deciding which assets to leave to a charity, such as your fund at the community foundation, in your estate plan, and which assets to leave to your heirs. The implications can be huge. Consider these scenarios:

IRA to kids, stock to charity

If you were to name your children as the beneficiaries of an IRA, and then provide for charitable gifts in your will or trust, your children will pay income tax on distributions from your IRA following your death. Assets passing under your will or trust, such as appreciated stock, get a step-up in basis, but if a charity is the ultimate beneficiary, it doesn’t really matter because charities are not subject to tax. Tax result? Less than ideal.

IRA to charity, stock to kids

If, instead, you name your fund as the beneficiary of your IRA, the community foundation pays no income tax. Then, any stock that passes to your children through your will or trust will receive a step-up in basis, meaning your kids can sell the stock and avoid capital gains tax on the appreciation during your lifetime. Tax result? Very good! 

Please reach out to the community foundation to learn more about leaving a legacy in your estate plan to support your favorite causes. We are happy to work with you and your advisors to maximize both the community impact and tax efficiency of your charitable gifts. 

QCDs: Soon there may be more to love

by Staff Name, Director of Charitable Giving

If you are 70 ½ and older, by now you’ve likely heard about a charitable giving tool called a Qualified Charitable Distribution (“QCD”), allowing you to direct a distribution from your IRA to an eligible charity, such as a designated fund, unrestricted fund, or field-of-interest fund at the community foundation. With a 2025 limit of $108,000 per taxpayer, QCDs count toward required minimum distributions (RMDs) but are excluded from taxable income, which can help you avoid higher tax brackets and phaseouts of deductions. 

The community foundation team is here to help you make the most of charitable giving tools, including QCDs. A frequently asked question about QCDs is whether they can be used to add money to a donor-advised fund. The answer is no–for now. While most public charities qualify as QCD recipients, donor-advised funds, private foundations, and supporting organizations do not under current law. Recently-proposed legislation, however, aims to further expand QCD eligibility by allowing distributions to donor-advised funds. 

If enacted, this change would give you and other eligible donors even more flexibility in maximizing your philanthropy. Indeed, a donor-advised fund is often the “hub” of a family’s charitable giving because it makes it so easy to stay organized and track support to favorite charities over the years. It’s becoming common for a family to add to its charitable giving “portfolio” by establishing a designated or field-of-interest fund alongside the donor-advised fund, as well as giving to the community foundations initiatives through the donor-advised fund. In many cases, family members also update their estate plans to include bequests to their funds at the community foundation.

A QCD is a wonderful tool, and we’ll keep our fingers crossed that it becomes even more wonderful. As always, the community foundation will keep you posted on this and other tax law changes that may impact your plans for supporting your favorite causes and the community we all love.  

The team at the community foundation is honored to serve as a resource and sounding board as you build your charitable plans and pursue your philanthropic objectives for making a difference in the community. This newsletter is provided for informational purposes only. It is not intended as legal, accounting, or financial planning advice. Please consult your tax or legal advisor to learn how this information might apply to your own situation.

Including charities in your plan, giving in a crisis, and celebrating philanthropy with your kids

Greetings from the community foundation! 

Spring has arrived! It is such a pleasure to hear from so many individuals, families, and businesses about how your charitable giving plans for 2025 are taking shape. If you are already working with the community foundation, thank you. If you are considering opening a donor-advised fund or other fund this year, we look forward to it!

Over the weeks ahead, consider spending a few minutes getting up to speed on trends in charitable giving and ways you can incorporate philanthropy into your life. To that end, here are three topics we think you’ll enjoy.  

–In the aftermath of tax season, many families are evaluating what they could have done differently to maximize tax efficiencies and support the causes they care about in a more meaningful way. Learn how the community foundation can work with you and your advisors to set in motion the charitable components of your financial and estate plan. 

–It’s a tough world out there! Charitable giving is such an important part of disaster relief and responses to other crises. Generous donations support much-needed assistance for people in need and can help speed along recovery efforts. Learn how the community foundation can be an important sounding board as you evaluate ways you can help. 

–Wrapping charitable giving into your family’s activities is easier than you might think, whether you’re throwing a “birthday party that gives back” or teaching your kids about budgeting for donations. Check out the community foundation’s quick tips for making philanthropy a part of your kids’ lives in easy, uplifting ways. 

Thank you for the opportunity to work together and for your continued commitment to making our community a better place for all. We look forward to our next conversation!

–Your community foundation

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Make a plan–and make your favorite charities part of it

by Staff Name, Director of Charitable Giving

At some point during your adult life, you’ve likely realized that it would be wise to put in place a will, trust, and powers of attorney, as well as undertake at least a basic level of financial planning to stay on track with retirement and other wealth-related goals for yourself and for your family. Perhaps you’re also among the many people who have thoughtfully incorporated charitable giving strategies into a comprehensive financial and estate plan.

If you’ve not yet wrapped charitable giving provisions into your will, trust, and financial plans, it’s never too late (or too early) to do so. The community foundation is happy to work with you and your legal, tax, and wealth advisors to set up charitable giving structures and processes that align with your intentions to support favorite charities and causes, as well as reinforce the tax and estate planning objectives you’ve set in motion. 

Indeed, formalizing your charitable intentions can bring a deep sense of purpose. By incorporating charitable giving into your estate plan, your values and philanthropic commitments can continue beyond your lifetime.  

What’s more, lifetime charitable giving can be part of a strategic wealth management plan, allowing you to optimize your financial resources while supporting causes you care about. For example, charitable income tax deductions for your donations may reduce your taxable income and lower your annual tax bill. Plus, donating appreciated assets, such as publicly-traded stock held for more than one year, can help you avoid capital gains taxes. In addition, dollars flowing to charities following your death can help minimize the burden of estate taxes.

The community foundation team would be honored to help you develop a philanthropy plan, starting with lifetime giving and incorporating estate gifts as your legacy intentions take shape. As you consider whether the time might be right for you to formalize your charitable giving, here are three tips to consider–all of which the community foundation can help you achieve:

Give to what you know. Most people experience the greatest joy from giving to causes that are personally familiar. Personal experience makes it easier to understand how the charity is using your dollars. So, for example, if you’ve had experience with helping foster children, you are likely to understand how the organization is using your donation to support training for foster parents. Please ask the community foundation team for insights! It’s our job to keep up with the good work of charities that are meeting local needs. 

Give where you are. Even with the increasing number of community challenges across the country and the globe, sometimes the greatest needs are right here at home. The community foundation team can help you identify opportunities to support local charities by gathering information about the overall need and how a particular charity addresses that need. When you give to local organizations, you are in a strong position to have confidence in your gift.

Give to the causes you love. Donations to charities that are aligned with your own passions make you feel the best and ultimately make the most difference because you’re likely to continue giving. The community foundation team is here to help bring your community dreams to life through the power of philanthropy. And that feels great! 

If you’ve already established a donor-advised fund or other type of fund with the community foundation, or if you are considering getting started with the community foundation this year, we are here for you! The community foundation is honored to serve as your home for charitable giving. Our team looks forward to hearing from you.

Crisis giving: Proceed with caution, but do proceed! 

by Staff Name, Director of Charitable Giving

It’s a natural human response to want to help in a crisis–even though it’s hard for many people to ask for help. Indeed, Stanford social psychologist Xuan Zhao notes that people generally underestimate others' willingness to help and overestimate the inconvenience it may cause. Asking for help can lead to meaningful experiences and often builds powerful human connections. That’s what philanthropy is all about. 

Given how we are wired, it’s easy to understand why natural disasters, humanitarian tragedies, and other crises often prompt people to make charitable donations. It’s often tempting to give to a charity without a lot of thought, both because of the emotional pull as well as the urgency of the human need presented by the crisis. But that’s usually not wise. Here’s why:

–It’s important to make sure the charity is reputable and has a proven track record. 

–It’s also important to consider that giving cash is usually the best option, even when you know the ultimate need is for food and medical supplies, for example. Cash allows charities to purchase exactly what is needed, often at a discount, and support local economies by buying from local businesses.

–You should also be cautious of high-pressure appeals that urge immediate donations without providing detailed information about what the charity is really doing. 

The good news is that the community foundation is here for you! Whether you’ve established a donor-advised or other type of fund at the community foundation, contributed to an existing fund, or are considering getting involved, our team is happy to serve as a sounding board. 

Our team can help you sort through the many options for giving to crisis relief to help ensure that your dollars make a difference. We’ll help protect your gift from fraud, help you maximize your tax benefits, strive to avoid duplication of relief efforts, and help your donations both meet immediate needs and fuel long-term recovery. 

We look forward to hearing from you! 

Many happy returns: How to help your kids celebrate charitable giving

by Staff Name, Director of Charitable Giving

If you’ve ever considered wrapping charitable giving into a child’s birthday party, you are not alone! Lots of parents are encouraging their kids to have guests bring gifts to charity instead of presents, whether it's collecting books for a children's hospital, pet toys for an animal shelter, or non-perishable food for a local food bank. Guests can feel part of something special by bringing items that align with the birthday child's interests, and the party can include activities like making cards for the elderly or packaging donations together. 

Even bigger than that, though, is the opportunity to educate your kids, starting at an early age, about charities and how every dollar can make a difference. Here are a few pointers:

Be intentional. Teaching children the value of charitable giving requires intentional strategies that blend financial education with empathy-building experiences. By including philanthropy as a regular part of your family routines and traditions, you can help your kids understand wealth as a tool for positive impact rather than just personal gain. Over time, you’ll see that this approach fosters both financial literacy and compassion for others.

It starts with money–and more. It’s often helpful to start the conversation by talking about money management and community needs, side by side. For example, you can explain how $100 might feed a family for a week, or how $1,000 could fund educational supplies for an entire classroom. You could even help your kids create a "giving budget” so they can practice ways to make their intentions visual and concrete. If you have established a donor-advised fund or other type of fund at the community foundation, log in to your account and show your kids how it works.  

Offer choices. Most kids don’t like to be told what to do (!), so it’s important to empower children by showing them how to research and pick causes that are aligned with their interests. The community foundation’s website is a great place to start. This is where kids can see the big picture of how charitable giving connects to our region’s quality of life, as well as learn about the community foundation’s priority initiatives and the nonprofits doing important work on the ground every day. 

Get out and about. Children (and adults) learn by doing, so try to find opportunities for hands-on involvement. You and your kids could volunteer together at food banks, organize neighborhood donation drives, or create handmade items for those in need. The community foundation is always happy to offer resources that will help you and your family find volunteer opportunities that are a good fit for your areas of interest and the ages of your children. 

As always, the community foundation is happy to be your sounding board as you get your family involved in charitable giving. We are honored to work with all generations of community-minded people! The future of our region depends on it, and we are here to help.

The team at the community foundation is honored to serve as a resource and sounding board as you build your charitable plans and pursue your philanthropic objectives for making a difference in the community. This newsletter is provided for informational purposes only. It is not intended as legal, accounting, or financial planning advice. Please consult your tax or legal advisor to learn how this information might apply to your own situation.

Tax tips, making your gifts efficient, and lifetime giving

Greetings from the community foundation! 

It’s our honor to work with so many individuals, families, and businesses to structure your charitable plans! If you are already working with the community foundation, thank you! If you are considering opening a donor-advised fund or other fund this year, we look forward to it!

As always, the community foundation is committed to sharing tips and insights to enrich your experience with philanthropy. 

–Tax time can be filled with to do lists and complexity. The community foundation is always here to offer simple tips and reminders about the tax rules related to charitable giving. Check out five important reminders that can help you get oriented as you gear up for this year’s filings.  

–In some cases, monthly giving to your favorite charities makes a lot of sense and can help organizations meet cash flow needs. In many cases, though, it might actually be better for a charity to receive a single gift each year. The community foundation can help you structure a giving plan that is a win-win for both you and the causes you love.

–We’re honored to work with so many individuals who have made arrangements for a gift to the community foundation in a will, trust, or IRA beneficiary designation. Many legacy donors have discovered that giving while they’re living is a wonderful way to get involved and make a difference right now, in addition to later. Learn how the community foundation can help you do both. 

Thank you for being part of the community foundation! We’re honored to be your home for charitable giving. Together through philanthropy, we can help our region thrive.  

–Your community foundation

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Just the facts: Five tax reminders for charitable giving

by Staff Name, Director of Charitable Giving

Tax time is a great reason to review the basics! At the community foundation, our goal is to help make the tax aspects of your charitable giving as easy and effective as possible. If you’ve already established a donor-advised or other type of fund at the community foundation, or if you’re considering starting a fund in 2025, it may be helpful to scan a quick reference guide of FAQs for a few of the tax rules that apply to charitable giving. 

Where charitable giving is concerned, why does it matter whether or not I itemize my deductions?

Charitable contributions can only be deducted if you itemize your deductions. If you do your own taxes, you’ll report deductions on Schedule A of IRS Form 1040. Itemization is only available if your total deductions exceed the standard deduction. For example, for tax year 2024 (the tax return you’ll file in 2025), the standard deduction is $14,600 for single filers and $29,200 for joint filers. As you look at 2025 and beyond, check with the community foundation about how your donor-advised fund can help you cross the itemization threshold while still carrying out your multi-year annual giving plans to support your favorite charities. 

If I use my donor-advised fund to make all of my gifts to charity, do I need receipts for all of those gifts?

No! A big advantage of organizing your giving through a donor-advised fund at the community foundation is that you can make a single gift of cash–or even better, appreciated stock–to your donor-advised fund, and then support your favorite charities from that fund. This means the only tax receipt you need is the one that documents your gift to the community foundation for your donor-advised fund. 

What documentation is required for me to take a charitable deduction?

Donations over $250 require written acknowledgment from the charity. The community foundation provides this for gifts you make to your donor-advised fund or other type of fund. Use IRS Form 8283 for non-cash contributions valued at $500 or more. Appraisals are required for donations valued over $5,000 (such as private stock and real estate).

How much of my income can I deduct for charitable donations to the community foundation and other public charities?

Cash donations to public charities (including your fund at the community foundation) are deductible up to 60% of adjusted gross income. Donations of non-cash assets, such as appreciated stock or real estate, are deductible up to 30% of AGI. Remember that donating appreciated assets held for more than one year to a fund at the community foundation can avoid capital gains tax; the community foundation does not pay tax when it sells the asset, leaving more money in the fund to support your favorite causes than you would have if you had sold the asset and donated the cash. 

What are the rules for IRA distributions to a charity?

If you’re age 70 ½ or older, you can make Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs), up to $108,000 in 2025, from IRAs to certain types of funds at the community foundation (such as designated funds or unrestricted funds, but not donor-advised funds). QCDs can satisfy your required minimum distributions. 

As always, the community foundation is here to help you achieve your charitable goals during tax season and throughout the year as you implement a philanthropy plan that meets both your financial goals as well as your goals for making a difference in the community, 

“Thanks, but …”: The hidden cost of small gifts to your favorite charities

by Staff Name, Director of Charitable Giving

Your favorite charities are grateful for your support over the years. Whether you make your gifts outright or support charities using a donor-advised or other type of fund at the community foundation, every gift makes a difference in the quality of life in our community. 

You may even care about your favorite charities so much that you strive to send over a donation every month throughout the year. In some cases, this works well for the charity, especially if its budget is particularly lean month-to-month or if monthly recurring donations are a priority for the charity’s public relations goals or other strategic reasons. It’s worth knowing, however, that in some situations, consolidating your gifts into a single annual donation is actually better for everyone, including the charity.

Here’s why:

Although recurring donations offer predictable cash flow for organizations, the processing fees and administrative burdens can disproportionately affect charities when donations are fragmented. By giving one substantial annual contribution to each of your favorite charities—whether personally or through your donor-advised fund at the community foundation—you can maximize impact while reducing operational costs for the charities.

Indeed, you might not realize the degree to which processing fees can erode small donations. Every transaction carries fixed costs, of course, regardless of size. A check, for example, can cost charities more than $3.50 to process by the time you add up bank fees, processor charges, and staff time. Even supposedly “streamlined” digital donations via credit cards and digital wallets incur fees that sometimes can add up to more than 4% of the donation amount. 

As an example, a single $100 annual gift via check might cost a charity $3.61, but four $25 quarterly donations via check could result in more than $14 in processing fees—consuming more than 14% of the donated amount! 

The direct costs associated with each check are just part of the expense. Nonprofits spend valuable resources reconciling accounts and managing donor records for each transaction. A single annual contribution can help reduce these often hidden costs, allowing charities to focus on mission-driven work rather than processing paperwork. This efficiency gain can be particularly crucial for small charities, which often operate with lean teams and tight budgets.

If you’re interested in shifting from monthly to annual giving and you’ve not yet established a donor-advised fund, you might consider doing so. A single contribution to your donor-advised fund each year allows you to claim an immediate tax deduction, and then in turn process an annual grant to each of the charities you’d like to support. This approach can help eliminate processing costs. 

For example, if you typically give a total of $1,200 each year to your place of worship and you started providing that support in a single annual transaction, such as through your donor-advised fund, instead of writing twelve $100 checks, you could save your place of worship nearly $50 in processing costs. Plus, you’ll personally benefit from simplified record-keeping with one annual receipt for the gift to your donor-advised fund rather than tracking multiple transactions. 

Whether you’re supporting local social service agencies, arts organizations, alma maters, or places of worship, consolidated giving ensures that more dollars flow directly to services rather than getting eaten up by processes and fees. What a terrific example of financial stewardship to honor both your own generosity as well as your favorite charities’ operational realities. Please reach out to the community foundation today to learn more about how annual consolidated giving might fit into your philanthropy plan. 

Giving later and now: Make an impact even before your legacy gift

by Staff Name, Director of Charitable Giving

According to the 2023 Giving USA Report released in June 2024, charitable bequests, totalling nearly $43 billion, are up 4.8% over the previous year, keeping pace with inflation. This extraordinary generosity signals the possibility of tremendous impact in our community and in communities across the country. 

We are grateful to so many of you who have chosen to leave an estate gift to the community foundation. Whether your will or trust includes a bequest to your fund at the community foundation, or whether you’ve named the community foundation as the beneficiary of your IRA, your gift will help improve the quality of life for people in our region for years to come. 

At the community foundation, we’re honored to work with donors who are not only interested in leaving a legacy, but also want to maximize giving during their lifetimes. Indeed, many donors are interested in establishing a donor-advised or other type of fund at the community foundation for a variety of reasons:

–They want to experience the joy of seeing the results of their gifts. 

–Parallel to providing financial support through their community foundation fund, many donors enjoy the opportunity to get involved, whether as a volunteer, board member, or simply an observer at site visits to charities they support. 

–They want to involve their children and grandchildren in supporting favorite charities, especially by working with the community foundation through a family donor-advised fund.

–They like the added perk that they may be eligible for an income tax deduction for lifetime charitable gifts and that the gifted assets are no longer subject to potential future estate taxes.

Please reach out to our team. The community foundation would be honored to work with you as you incorporate lifetime giving into your charitable giving plan that already includes a generous and much-appreciated estate gift to the community foundation. Thank you for being part of the community foundation!

The team at the community foundation is honored to serve as a resource and sounding board as you build your charitable plans and pursue your philanthropic objectives for making a difference in the community. This newsletter is provided for informational purposes only. It is not intended as legal, accounting, or financial planning advice. Please consult your tax or legal advisor to learn how this information might apply to your own situation.

Celebrating the causes you love, missed deadlines, and the paradox of choice

Greetings from the community foundation! 

The year is in full swing! It is our pleasure to work with so many individuals, families, and businesses to establish charitable funds and legacies to achieve the community impact that means the most to you. For those of you who have not yet established a fund but are considering it, thank you! We look forward to learning more about your charitable goals and identifying ways the community foundation can help.

Here’s what’s trending here at the community foundation.

–This is a great time of year to reflect on the causes you love and the reasons you love them. Whether it’s a favorite charity because you’ve served on the board of directors for years, or an organization you’ve recently begun supporting, the community foundation’s tools can help you deepen your involvement and meet your estate planning goals at the same time. 

–Missed deadlines are no fun, especially where tax rules and the IRS are concerned. If you intended to make a Qualified Charitable Distribution in 2024 but missed the deadline, take a moment right now to be sure you are planning for 2025. QCDs are excellent tools for people who’ve reached the age of 70 ½, and the community foundation can help you make the most of the opportunity. 

–Having choices is a good thing, right? Of course! But that doesn’t mean it’s not overwhelming to be faced with a lot of options, especially where charitable giving is concerned. That’s where the community foundation comes in. We can help you sort through the options, simplify a strategy, and set a plan in motion to achieve both your philanthropic and tax planning goals. 

Wishing you all the best for February! 

–Your community foundation

THIS MONTH’S

TRENDING TOPICS

Celebrating the causes you love

by Staff Name, Director of Charitable Giving

A new year is in full swing, but you’ve still got plenty of time to consider your charitable impact and how you’d like to make a difference in 2025. A great way to do that is to reflect on the difference you’ve already made through the years.

For starters, think about how the many causes you’ve supported have resulted in tangible, positive improvements in the quality of life for so many people in our region. Indeed, many people are drawn to charitable giving and decide to establish a fund at the community foundation because of personal experiences with charities during a time of need. For example, perhaps a loved one benefited from groundbreaking medical research funded by charitable donations. Or maybe you or a family member overcame personal challenges with the help of nonprofit counseling services, or your business might have thrived thanks to a nonprofit-supported arts district or mentorship program. Nonprofit hospice care may have provided comfort and support during a difficult time with a family member. Even a cherished pet may have come into your life through a nonprofit animal rescue. What’s more, many people find that their happiness increases through acts of giving. When you know you’re helping someone, it makes you feel good!

The team at the community foundation is here to help you shape your charitable giving plan for 2025 and beyond. We’d welcome a conversation to review key components of your philanthropy and help you make the biggest impact possible. For example, we can review:

–Opportunities to accomplish your charitable giving goals this year through gifts of appreciated stock

–Opportunities to incorporate gifts to your fund in your estate plan and create a lasting  charitable legacy

–Examples of how you can join forces with other fund holders to support larger initiatives

–Examples of donors who are not only pursuing their own charitable priorities, but are also supporting the community foundation’s work to improve quality of life in our region for generations to come

–Reviewing grants to charities since you established a donor-advised fund and examples of the impact of those grants to help inform future grant making to the causes you love

–Ways your grants and the charities you support are helping achieve positive community change in priorities identified as critical by the community foundation

If you'd like to discuss your giving strategies or explore new ways to maximize your impact, please don't hesitate to reach out. We're here to help you achieve your philanthropic goals and create lasting change in our community.

QC … drat! If you missed the 2024 deadline, start planning now

by Staff Name, Director of Charitable Giving

A Qualified Charitable Distribution (“QCD”) is a useful tool if you’ve reached the age of 70 ½ and want to give to a designated, field-of-interest, or unrestricted fund at the community foundation. Indeed, in 2025, you can direct up to $108,000 from your IRA to many types of funds at the community foundation, although donor-advised funds are not eligible. 

But what if you intended to make a QCD in 2024 and time got away from you? Perhaps you even initiated a QCD on December 31 but it was too late to qualify for 2024 because of the way these transactions are settled between administrators and recipients. This is a complex topic for sure, and you’ll want to discuss the details with your tax advisors. At a high-level, here are a few considerations if you missed the opportunity last year. 

First and foremost, ensure you have taken your Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) for 2024 if you are required to do so. Failing to take your RMD can result in significant penalties, so this should be your top priority. If you missed your RMD deadline because you were planning to make a QCD, you should file Form 5329 and request a waiver.

While you can't retroactively make a QCD for the previous year, you can get a jump on 2025. Indeed, there are lots of reasons to make your QCDs early in the year. For example, it’s smart to try to avoid potential conflicts with the "first-dollars-out rule,” meaning that the first dollars withdrawn from an IRA will count toward your RMD. QCDs early in the year help ensure that it will count toward your RMD before taking any other distributions that might be taxable. And of course, avoiding the year-end rush is imperative.

The community foundation team is always happy to work with you and your advisors to help you carry out your charitable giving goals, whether you’re exploring a QCD or any of the many ways you can support the causes you love. We look forward to working with you this year! 

Gifts to your fund: Breaking through the paradox of choice

by Staff Name, Director of Charitable Giving

As you consider your 2025 giving priorities, you’ll no doubt recall that writing a check to favorite charities is not the only way to support the causes you love. But sometimes it seems easiest to reach for the checkbook because it’s overwhelming to think about all the options.

You might be experiencing what’s known as the “paradox of choice,” a phenomenon where an abundance of options actually decreases your satisfaction and diminishes your decision-making ability. Too many choices can cause decision fatigue, anxiety, and regret over potentially missed opportunities. 

We understand! The team at the community foundation is here for you. We’ll help you evaluate potential assets that would make great gifts to your donor-advised or other type of fund at the community foundation, including:

–Gifts of publicly-traded stock, allowing you to potentially avoid capital gains tax

–Giving shares of closely-held business interests to your fund as part of a long-term business succession plan

–Gifts of real estate, including farmland or commercial property, allowing you to potentially avoid capital gains tax and reduce the value of your taxable estate if future estate taxes are a concern 

–Beneficiary designations on retirement plans, and even “Qualified Charitable Distributions” from your IRA to a designated or field-of-interest fund if you are over the age of 70 ½ 

–Naming your fund at the community foundation as the beneficiary of a life insurance policy, or even transferring a whole life policy and making annual tax-deductible contributions to the community foundation to cover the premium

–Gifts of oil and gas interests, cryptocurrency, and collectibles are also possibilities for adding to your fund at the community foundation

The bottom line here is that our team can help you work through the options. We’ll make sure that the daunting range of options doesn’t prevent you from making the best decisions to achieve both your financial planning and charitable giving goals. 

The team at the community foundation is honored to serve as a resource and sounding board as you build your charitable plans and pursue your philanthropic objectives for making a difference in the community. This newsletter is provided for informational purposes only. It is not intended as legal, accounting, or financial planning advice. Please consult your tax or legal advisor to learn how this information might apply to your own situation.

Due diligence, budgeting, and family philanthropy tips

Happy New Year from the community foundation! 

We hope your 2025 is off to a good start already.

Many of you have been fund holders or fund advisors at the community foundation for years, and we are grateful. Some of you established a donor-advised fund, field-of-interest fund, scholarship fund, or unrestricted fund in 2024, and we’re so glad you did. Others of you are evaluating whether to start a fund at the community foundation in 2025. Wherever you may be along your charitable giving journey, we invite you to reach out anytime. 

Here’s what’s trending here at the community foundation.

–A new year can bring new opportunities for community involvement, including introductions to charities you’ve not yet supported. Whether you’ve been approached to support a friend’s favorite charity or have just learned about a brand new organization, think of the community foundation team as your go-to sounding board for due diligence.  

–A budget may not be the very first thing that comes to mind when you think about ringing in a new year, but budgets are important, even when it comes to charitable giving. The community foundation is happy to offer tips to help you plan your philanthropy goals for 2025 to align with your financial priorities. 

–Charitable giving is a powerful thread that runs through multiple generations of many philanthropic families. The team at the community foundation can help incorporate charitable giving into your legacy plans to achieve not only your goals for community impact, but also your intentions to empower financial independence in your children and grandchildren.

We look forward to working with you in the months ahead!

–Your community foundation

THIS MONTH’S

TRENDING TOPICS

Doing your due diligence

by Staff Name, Director of Charitable Giving

You’re ready to roll into a new year, and that includes staying involved with the charities you love, whether as a donor, volunteer, board member, or all of the above.

The team at the community foundation is here to support your charitable endeavors, no matter where your passions lie. Our region is full of charitable organizations that are doing amazing work to improve the quality of life for everyone. Indeed, across the country, there are hundreds of thousands of charities making a difference every single day.

Occasionally, you may be asked by a friend or colleague to donate to a charity you’re not too familiar with, or perhaps a charity that’s not been around very long asks you for financial support. Please reach out to our team with your questions. We are happy to help you gather the information you need to be confident in your gifts to any organization, large or small, new or well-established. 

The overwhelming majority of charities are above board, ethical, governed by top-notch board members, and run by highly-qualified professionals. Unfortunately, though, every once in a rare while, there are instances when a charity might not dot all the i’s and cross all the t’s. Although very infrequent, it’s still worth considering leaning on the community foundation to help you with due diligence for a few reasons: 

–You’ll want to protect your reputation against damage if you were to wind up supporting a charity that later becomes tainted by a scandal.

–You’ll want to validate that the charity is not facing significant or unusual legal or financial risks. 

–You’ll want to avoid scams, which, unfortunately, are on the rise. 

A big perk of organizing your giving through a fund at the community foundation is that our team always has its finger on the pulse of what’s going on with charitable organizations in our community. We can research the status of longstanding organizations, check into a brand new organization, and everything in between. Our goal is to help ensure that your charitable contributions have the greatest possible impact. We look forward to hearing from you! 

Budgeting has its benefits, even with charitable giving

by Staff Name, Director of Charitable Giving

Your family may be among those who are taking their charitable giving budgets more seriously this year, given uncertainty surrounding interest rates, potential new legislation, and possible stock market swings. 

At the same time, you also know that our community’s needs continue to rise. As 2025 gets into full swing, your favorite charities will be relying on additional resources and support from philanthropic sources. 

Against this backdrop, a budget has benefits!

Here are a few steps to consider as you build a 2025 budget for charitable donations that can help you continue to support your favorite causes and remain fiscally cautious.

–Review all your charitable donations from the last three years and compile totals for each organization. This can be an easy exercise if you use a donor-advised fund at the community foundation because the data can typically be pulled directly from the community foundation’s donor portal or requested from the community foundation’s team.

–Carefully review the list of organizations you’ve supported over the last three years. Regardless of your donation levels, which charities are the most important to you? Are you serving on the board of directors of any of these organizations? Do you regularly volunteer at any of them? Is there a personal connection?

–Are there any organizations on your list that you supported primarily because the organization was raising money for a capital campaign, or because you were helping out a friend who is involved with that organization? If you anticipate household budget constraints in 2025, these may be organizations to possibly put on hold and then revisit supporting again in future years.

–Add up your total giving over the last three years and then divide it by three to get your average. Is that number doable this year? If not, reduce it to a level that fits within your financial situation to arrive at your tentative 2025 giving budget. Or, if you expect your income and assets to increase this year, consider taking your charitable giving budget up a notch. And always remember that there are tax advantages to giving highly-appreciated publicly-traded stock to your fund at the community foundation. 

–Consider whether to keep certain organizations at historic levels of giving, such as those you’re personally involved with. Or on the flip side, you may decide to temporarily reduce your level of giving to organizations for which you are providing other types of support, including volunteering or board service.

–Review your list to see if there are any organizations you’ve supported that you’d like to learn more about. The team at the community foundation is extremely knowledgeable about charities in our region and would be happy to provide information on how a particular organization spends its money and how it measures impact.

–Finally, do the best you can to set targets for the amount of support you’d like to provide to each organization—and perhaps even set targets for the timing of your gifts. You can change these targets at any time, of course. The point here is that the planning and budgeting process is a great way to create more intentionality around your giving. Intentional giving is not only more rewarding for you, but it is also likely to increase your level of engagement with the recipient charities and enhance your understanding of how dollars are being deployed to meet the mission. This, in turn, helps your favorite organizations get better at carrying out their programs and serving those who rely on their work. 

We look forward to working with you throughout the year! 

It’s a family thing

by Staff Name, Director of Charitable Giving

If you’ve not yet involved your children or grandchildren in your charitable giving, this may be the year to consider it! Children of all ages can benefit from learning even just a little bit about philanthropy and how charities improve the quality of life for everyone. Indeed, many parents and grandparents believe that some level of community involvement is crucial for young family members’ personal growth and future contributions to a more compassionate society. 

The team at the community foundation is always happy to help you explore best practices for helping shape the young people in your life into caring, responsible adults and inspire your extended family to get more involved.

Increasing a family’s role in charitable giving often leads to broader questions about estate planning, such as: 

–How to structure legacies to favorite charities so that heirs can stay involved in your priorities across generations

–How to ensure that children and grandchildren will be financially secure but still motivated to pursue independent personal and professional growth

–How to foster and support the self-directed charitable passions of children and grandchildren

The team at the community foundation is happy to work alongside your tax and estate planning advisors to address questions like this. We understand that you may be concerned that leaving millions of dollars, or even hundreds of thousands, to your children could backfire and hinder your kids’ ability and motivation to achieve financial independence. You might even be among the growing number of baby boomers who are considering pushing out distribution dates of inheritances and gifts.  

In addition to concerns about fostering entitlement and dependency, many parents and grandparents are concerned that their children will miss out on the satisfaction of knowing they built wealth on their own. These parents believe that the challenges and struggles along the way will ultimately enrich their children’s lives with intangible benefits that are far greater than the obvious benefits that come with gifts or an inheritance of significant financial resources.

If you find yourself feeling this way, please reach out to the community foundation. Every day, our team works with families who are in this exact situation. We’ll help you evaluate strategies such as:

–Establishing philanthropic components of an estate plan so that children receive only the amount that can pass to them free of estate tax, with the rest passing to a charity, such as a donor-advised fund at the community foundation.

–Setting up a fund at the community foundation to allow you to support favorite causes and charities during your lifetime; if the fund is a donor-advised fund, you can provide that your children step in as successor advisors following your death.

–As successor advisors to the donor-advised fund, your children can work with the community foundation to recommend grants to favorite charities, support interest areas you’ve pre-selected, or both. 

Many people are attracted to this type of structure because not only could it avoid estate tax, but it also allows their children to stay involved with all of the family’s wealth, work together and keep sibling bonds strong, and get involved in the community. 

Please reach out to the community foundation team anytime. We look forward to exploring strategies to help you meet your financial and tax goals, as well as honor your wishes for your children to live happy and productive lives. 

The team at the community foundation is honored to serve as a resource and sounding board as you build your charitable plans and pursue your philanthropic objectives for making a difference in the community. This newsletter is provided for informational purposes only. It is not intended as legal, accounting, or financial planning advice. Please consult your tax or legal advisor to learn how this information might apply to your own situation.

Matters of trust, tips to wrap up 2024, and generational impact

Hello from the community foundation! 

The year is winding down! Where did 2024 go? 

The team at the community foundation is here to help you navigate your charitable giving priorities all year round, and especially during the giving season when we know many of you are beginning to turn your attention to tax planning and ensuring that you'll meet your charitable goals before the end of December.

Here’s what’s trending: 

–The community foundation is our region’s trusted source for all things philanthropy. We are honored to serve you as you pursue the charitable endeavors that mean the most to you and your family. Learn how our team helps you structure your giving in ways that respect your desire for trust in the impact your dollars can make.

–Year-end is fast approaching! We’re providing three important tips to consider as you evaluate where you stand with your charitable giving goal for 2024 and review your tax situation with your advisors. Whether you’ve already established a fund at the community foundation or are considering it, we look forward to hearing from you.

–Charitable giving is important to couples whether or not they have children. Discover how the community foundation can help you achieve your charitable intentions to support our community across generations in situations where heirs will be involved and in situations where there are no heirs. We’re here for everyone!    

Wishing you all the best for a safe and happy Thanksgiving.

–Your community foundation

Fostering trust and making a difference

Many people are not aware of the extent to which America’s charitable organizations help improve quality of life in our communities. From social services to the arts, virtually every aspect of our lives is touched by the work of nonprofits. Indeed, the gifts Americans give to charity every year total more than $557 billion and provide critical support for nearly 1.5 million organizations that are helping communities thrive. 

Research shows that trust continues to be an important factor in charitable giving. Unfortunately, high levels of trust sometimes can be hard to achieve; 73% of donors surveyed said they felt that it is very important to trust a charity before giving, but only 19% say they highly trust charities.

So what should you do if you know you want to support a particular organization but you’ve not quite yet gained a level of trust to go “all in?” Or what if you want to support an overall area of community need but you’re not sure which organizations are best aligned with the results you want your charitable gifts to achieve? Or what if you’re fairly certain you know the specific organizations that are addressing your areas of interest right now, but you’re concerned that this “fit” might change over time as needs shift and charities evolve?

The community foundation can help in situations like these and many others like them. Here are three examples:

–If you’ve established a donor-advised fund at the community foundation to organize your giving, lean on the team at the community foundation for insights into which charities are best suited to achieve your goals for impact at any given time. Our team stays up to date on local charities, their priorities, and their programs and staff. We can provide information and insights to help you make informed decisions.

–If you’re committed to supporting a specific charity but you’d rather not give the money outright, you could consider setting up a designated fund at the community foundation to make distributions to the charity according to parameters you set. Because the charity receives the money in increments every year, charitable dollars remaining in the fund are protected from the charity’s creditors if the charity were to fall on hard times.  

–If you’d like the community foundation to help out even more, you might consider establishing a field-of-interest fund so that the community foundation team can deploy its expertise in selecting charities that are best suited from year to year to achieve your goals for community impact. 

–To ensure that the mission of the community foundation itself stays strong and that dollars will flow to support critical community needs for generations, you can establish an unrestricted fund at the community foundation. You can add to the unrestricted fund during your lifetime, such as through gifts of appreciated stock, and you can also include a gift to the fund in your estate plan through your will or an IRA beneficiary designation. 

The community foundation is unique in its structure as a perpetual institution governed by an independent board of directors. Our mission is to improve the quality of life in our region across generations by connecting donors to the causes they care about and leading on critical community issues. We’re honored to work alongside you and your family as you build trust with the charitable organizations that are making a difference for everyone who lives and works in the community we love.

A trio of tips to wrap up 2024

Year-end is closing in, and it’s easy to get overwhelmed by all the advice floating around about what to do before December 31. We’re making it super easy for you! Here are three reminders that typically are among the most important for year-end charitable giving. 

–Give stock. Evaluate your highly-appreciated stock positions and use these assets to give to your fund at the community foundation, coordinating with your tax and financial advisors to optimize your 2024 goals. Appreciated assets generally are far better charitable gifts than cash because you not only can take advantage of the income tax deduction, but also you can avoid capital gains tax. 

–Use your donor-advised fund. Consider deploying a “bundling” or “bunching” technique by making a gift to your donor-advised fund at the community foundation this calendar year that allows you to leverate itemized deductions (the standard deduction is very high, at least at the moment), and then use your donor-advised fund over the next few years to support your favorite charities.

–Explore a QCD. If you are age 70 ½ or older, you absolutely must consider making a Qualified Charitable Distribution (“QCD”) to a designated or field-of-interest fund at the community foundation. Each spouse can give up to $105,000 in 2024, and the distributions will satisfy your RMDs if you’ve also reached that age. Contact the community foundation right away to learn why the QCD is so powerful. Note that your donor-advised fund is not an eligible recipient, but there are lots of other ways you can leverage this tax-savvy giving opportunity.    

November is the time to set things in motion so you don’t get caught up in the year-end rush. Reach out to the community foundation team today! We are here for you! 

Generational impact, with or without children

At the community foundation, we’re honored to work with our donors and fund holders to achieve a wide range of charitable giving priorities often involving multiple charitable giving vehicles. It’s not uncommon, for example, for an individual’s or couple’s “portfolio” of philanthropy with the community foundation to look something like this: 

–A donor-advised fund to make it easy to donate appreciated stock and organize annual giving to favorite charities.

–A designated fund to support the mission of a particular charity over the long term, especially because when one spouse reaches the age of 70 ½, the designated fund can receive tax-savvy Qualified Charitable Distributions from IRAs.

–A beneficiary designation on an IRA to leave those assets to an unrestricted fund at the community foundation, avoiding both income tax and estate tax, so that the fund can support the community foundation’s mission in perpetuity.

What’s more, many people don’t realize that a mix of charitable giving vehicles works well to achieve your charitable goals whether or not you have children. For example, if you have children, you can work with the community foundation to explore naming them as successor advisors on your donor-advised fund to carry on your philanthropic priorities beyond your lifetime. If you don’t have children, your donor-advised fund can roll into your designated fund or unrestricted fund following your death. 

Changing demographics are becoming a catalyst for the community foundation’s increased role in many estate plans. For example, not having children is becoming more common, both among millennials and older people. According to a study conducted by the Pew Research Center, 20% of U.S. adults age 50 and older hadn’t had children. In addition, children of affluent parents tend to move away, which means that many parents embrace the notion that working with the community foundation can help children maintain ties to their childhood community even across generations. 

Indeed, many couples who don’t have children and couples who do have children feel a strong sense of peace of mind knowing that the community foundation will be involved with their charitable legacy long after their lifetimes, whether through advising children and grandchildren or administering charitable bequests for maximum community impact. The community foundation always has its finger on the pulse of our region’s greatest needs and the nonprofits that are meeting those needs at any given point in time, whether right now or decades in the future. 

Please reach out to the team at the community foundation to learn more about how we can help you leave a legacy across generations, whether or not you have children. We’re here to help! 

Funds for year-end, gifts from your IRA, and assets you can give to your fund

Hello from the community foundation! 

We’re honored to work with so many of you as you support the charitable causes that mean the most to you and your family. If you’ve not yet established a fund at the community foundation, please reach out! We’d love to help you structure a charitable giving plan that’s just right for you, including a donor-advised fund, legacy gift, field-of-interest fund, or all of the above and more. Our goal is to help you make a difference in the ways that mean the most to you.

Here’s what’s trending:

–We’re so glad to see that field-of-interest funds and designated funds are gaining popularity. A field-of-interest fund allows you to support a specific charitable cause by leveraging the community foundation’s expertise. A designated fund allows you to support a favorite charity or charities over time. Best of all, if you’re over the age of 70 ½, both of these funds are eligible recipients of Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) from your IRA, up to $105,000 a year. Reach out to learn more about field-of-interest funds, designated funds, and QCDs.

–Many Americans hold a significant portion of their net worth in one or more IRAs. Have you thoroughly considered all of the ways your IRA can help you meet your charitable giving goals, both during your lifetime and through a legacy? Giving to charity from an IRA is one of the most tax-savvy moves you can make. Reach out to the community foundation team to learn more. 

–It’s that time of year! You may be starting to review your tax projections to determine an ideal level of charitable giving at the end of 2024. Before you start writing checks, stop to consider the many types of assets that frequently make even better gifts to your fund at the community foundation. Our team can help you and your advisors identify the best assets for year-end giving. 

Finally, and most importantly, our hearts go out to the millions of people affected by Hurricane Helene. Community foundations in the affected areas and across the country are making it as easy as possible to donate to relief efforts. Please contact the team at the community foundation to learn more about how you can help swiftly and most effectively. 

–Your community foundation

P.S. We’re excited about the first ever DAF Day, a national campaign to encourage giving from donor-advised funds. We love watching so many of you deploy your donor-advised fund for good, year in and year out. Please reach out to the community foundation team if you’d like to learn more. 

Field-of-interest and designated funds could be your year-end friends

As you’re looking ahead to year-end giving, you’re likely thinking about transferring cash, or ideally appreciated stock, to your donor-advised fund so that you can maximize tax benefits and support the charities you love. And absolutely, a donor-advised fund can be a fabulous component of your overall charitable giving portfolio. 

Think beyond donor-advised funds, though, especially at year-end. The community foundation offers a wide variety of funds to meet your charitable giving goals and also help you maximize your tax and financial planning efforts.

Two excellent fund types that are sometimes overlooked are designated funds and field-of-interest funds. 

When you set up a field-of-interest fund at the community foundation, you’re setting aside charitable dollars for a specific charitable purpose. For example, you might decide to set up a field-of-interest to support research for rare diseases, to support organizations that assist homeless families in getting back on their feet, to enable art museums to acquire works that celebrate the region’s diversity, and so on. With a field-of-interest fund, you’re leaning on the knowledgeable team at the community foundation to distribute grants to achieve your wishes. As is the case with a donor-advised fund, you’ll choose a name for your fund, whether you wish to use your own name (e.g., Samuels Family Fund or Samuels Family Fund for the Arts), maintain anonymity (e.g., Maryville Fund for the Arts), or something else altogether (e.g., Bettering Our World Fund).    

A designated fund is a good choice if you know you want to support a particular charity or charities for multiple years. This is useful so that the distributions can be spread out over time to help with the charity or charities’ cash flow planning, which allows you to potentially benefit from a larger charitable tax deduction in the year you establish the fund if, for example, your tax rates are higher than usual in that particular year. Your designated fund document allows you to specify the charities to receive distributions according to a spending policy you select. 

Last but not least, if you are over the age of 70 ½, pay particular attention to designated funds and field-of-interest funds as year end approaches because these two types of funds, unlike donor-advised funds, can receive “Qualified Charitable Distributions” from IRAs–up to $105,000 per person in 2024! 

As always, thank you for the opportunity to work together! 

Your IRA is a force for good

It probably would not surprise you to learn that over 42% of Americans own an IRA. In many cases, IRAs–especially for people who have rolled over one or more employer retirement plans–represent a significant portion of a household’s net worth. When it comes to charitable planning, IRAs should never be ignored. Indeed, your IRA may offer some of the best opportunities to support the causes you care about. 

For starters, no matter what your age, consider the benefits of changing the beneficiary designation on your IRA to name your fund at the community foundation as the recipient of all or a portion of the account. This is an easy, tax-effective way to leave a bequest to support the causes you care about. The community foundation can help you structure the terms of your fund to match your intended charitable legacy. For example, you can make arrangements for your children to serve as advisors on the fund to recommend grants to particular areas of interest, or the community foundation itself could deploy the money to support the community’s areas of greatest need or even the support foundation’s own mission-based operations. 

The reason an IRA beneficiary designation is such an ideal form of charitable bequest is because of the tax advantages. Dollars flowing to the community foundation from an IRA upon your death are not subject to estate tax. In addition, as a public charity, the community foundation does not pay income taxes on the IRA assets it receives. By contrast, if you were to name your children as beneficiaries of the IRA, those IRA distributions to the children are subject to income tax, which can be hefty given the tax treatment of inherited IRAs. Plus, the IRA assets would be included in your estate for estate tax purposes. 

Exploring ways to give your IRA to charity can also serve as a helpful reminder to review all of your beneficiary designations. Although they may appear to be innocuous and may even be easy to overlook, those beneficiary designation forms actually represent critical components of your estate plan. To understand this, you need look no further than the cautionary tale of a Procter & Gamble employee who died in 2015, leaving behind a retirement plan. Way back in 1987, the employee had named his girlfriend as the beneficiary of his retirement plan. Despite their relationship ending, the employee never updated the beneficiary designation. By the time the employee died, the retirement plan, which had grown to nearly $1 million, passed via the beneficiary designation to the 1980s ex-girlfriend. 

Finally, if you have reached the age of 70 ½, you can make what’s known as a Qualified Charitable Distribution (“QCD”) from your IRA directly to certain charities, including a designated fund or a field-of-interest fund at the community foundation–up to $105,000 per year per spouse. You won’t pay income tax on the distribution and, happily, if you’ve reached the age for Required Minimum Distributions, your QCDs count toward those distributions. 

The upshot? Next time you review your financial and estate plan with your advisor, take a close look at your IRAs. If you intend to leave a charitable legacy, or if you’d like to support your favorite organizations during your retirement years, your IRA may be your best bet to make a big difference in the causes you care about.   

Variety is the spice of … giving

If you’ve been working with the community foundation for a while, you certainly know that it’s easy to make a contribution to your fund. And by now, you likely know not to automatically reach for your checkbook! The team at the community foundation is happy to work with you and your tax advisors to review the options for types of gifts. Here’s food for thought:

Marketable securities

Gifts of long-term appreciated stock to a donor-advised or other type of fund at the community foundation is always one of the most tax-savvy ways to support favorite charitable causes because capital gains tax can be avoided. Gifts of publicly-traded stock, for example, are easy to transfer to a fund. The community foundation team provides transfer instructions to make the process simple. 

As is the case with a cash gift, the community foundation will provide a receipt for tax purposes, and the gift of stock will be valued at the shares’ fair market value on the date of transfer. When the community foundation sells the shares, the proceeds flow into your fund without any reduction for capital gains taxes. This is because the community foundation is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization and therefore does not pay income tax. That would not have been the case, however, if you had sold the stock first and then transferred the proceeds to your fund; you would owe capital gains tax on the sale. Especially in cases where you have held the stock a long time and it’s gone up significantly in value, the capital gains hit can be big.

Closely-held business interests

The community foundation team is happy to work with you and your advisors to explore how you might give shares of a closely-held business to a fund at the community foundation. Not only will transfers be eligible for a charitable deduction during the year of transfer (and at fair market value if the shares are held for more than one year), but also these gifts could potentially reduce income tax burdens triggered upon a future sale of the business. Be sure to talk with our team well before any potential sale is in the works; otherwise, you could lose out on tax benefits. Gifts of closely-held business interests are powerful but can be tricky to administer. 

QCDs from IRAs

As always, keep in mind that the Qualified Charitable Distribution (“QCD”) is a very smart way to support charitable causes. If you are over 70 ½, you can direct up to $105,000 from your IRA to certain charities, including a field-of-interest, designated, unrestricted, or scholarship fund at the community foundation. If you are subject to the rules for Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs), QCDs count toward those RMDs. That means you avoid income tax on the funds distributed to charity. Plus, keep in mind that leaving your IRA to your fund through a beneficiary designation is a very tax savvy move, so be sure to discuss this option with our team and your tax advisors. 

Real estate 

You can give a tax-deductible gift of real estate, such as farmland or commercial property, to your fund in a variety of ways. An outright gift is always an option; lifetime gifts of real estate held for more than one year are deductible for income tax purposes at 100% of the fair market value of the property on the date of the gift, which also avoids capital gains tax and reduces the value of your taxable estate. Other ways to give real estate include a bargain sale or a transfer to a charitable remainder trust which produces lifetime income for you and your family.

Life insurance

Don’t overlook life insurance as an effective charitable giving tool, whether by naming your fund at the community foundation as the beneficiary or, in the case of whole life policies, naming the fund as beneficiary and transferring the policy itself. If you transfer a policy, you may be able to make annual, tax-deductible contributions to the community foundation to cover the premiums. 

Other “alternative” assets

The community foundation is happy to discuss your options for giving other non-cash assets to your fund at the community foundation, including oil and gas interests, negotiable instruments, cryptocurrency, artwork, and collectibles. 

We look forward to working with you to explore all the options! 

The team at the community foundation is honored to serve as a resource and sounding board as you build your charitable plans and pursue your philanthropic objectives for making a difference in the community. This newsletter is provided for informational purposes only. It is not intended as legal, accounting, or financial planning advice. Please consult your tax or legal advisor to learn how this information might apply to your own situation.