The community foundation stands by your side in assisting your donors as they incorporate your organization into their philanthropy and estate plans.
More and more, giving is on your donors’ minds, especially as donors become increasingly tuned in to our community’s needs in the wake of the pandemic and the roller coaster ride of the last year and a half.
Indeed, according to 2020 statistics released in June 2021 as part of the Giving USA report, individuals in America alone gave $324 billion to charitable organizations last year. In addition, bequests to charity totaled nearly $42 billion. And when gifts from foundations and corporations are included, 2020 giving totaled $471.44 billion. That’s a tremendous amount of charitable giving.
Increase your donors’ support by embracing a broad range of assets
With charitable giving reaching record levels, how can you spot a situation where the community foundation could help you work with a donor to secure a meaningful gift to support your mission?
Start with a keen awareness of the types of assets a donor could give to your organization. Don’t underestimate the range of property you can receive, especially when you collaborate with the community foundation to accept a gift, administer a sale, and disburse charitable dollars toward your mission according to a donor’s wishes.
Cash
For taxpayers who itemize, dollars are deductible up to 60% of adjusted gross income and excess deductions can be carried over and deducted in five future tax years. On the flip side, a donor-advised fund at the community foundation can help a donor maximize an up-front charitable tax deduction, with the dollars flowing to your organization and other charities over a period of years.
Highly-appreciated stocks and other investments
Publicly-traded stocks and bonds are tax-effective gifts to your organization, especially because capital gains tax can be avoided.
Qualified plans
Whether via a Qualified Charitable Distribution by a donor who is over 72 years old, or through a bequest, a qualified retirement plan can be an effective asset for charitable giving.
Alternative assets
Real estate, closely-held business interests, collectibles, and other nontraditional assets can frequently come with strong tax benefits when given to a public charity such as your organization or a fund at the community foundation. The proceeds from the sale can support your nonprofit, or, when the donor uses a fund at the community foundation, the proceeds can even support several organizations, including yours, if that’s what the donor intends.
Understanding the types of funds at the community foundation
The community foundation offers a variety of funds to help its donors. There are ways your organization can benefit from all of them. When a donor asks you to help structure a complex gift, please contact the team at the community foundation to review the types of funds that could help you secure benefits from the gift while also meeting the donor’s wishes.
Donor-advised Fund
A donor-advised fund enables a donor to establish a specific account for charitable giving. A donor makes a tax-deductible contribution of cash or other assets to the fund, and then recommends grants to favorite charities, including your organization.
Donor-advised funds have been in the news quite a bit lately, and it’s important to understand the benefits they provide to your organization and other charities serving our community.
Unrestricted Fund
The community foundation has its finger on the pulse of the community’s most pressing issues. An unrestricted fund provides a donor with the opportunity to support community needs that can’t be identified until the future. One of the biggest benefits of a community foundation is its perpetual structure that allows support to nonprofits to evolve over time as priorities in the region shift.
Please reach out to the team at the community foundation to learn more about how we administer unrestricted funds and whether there may be opportunities now or in the future for your organization to apply for grants from these funds.
Field of Interest Fund
To target charitable giving to specific areas of community need (such as education, health, environment, or the arts), a donor can set up a field of interest fund to establish parameters for grant making under the ongoing guidance and expertise of the community foundation’s staff.
This is why the team at the community foundation makes it a priority to stay in touch with you and other organizations. We want to understand whom you are serving and how so that we can channel resources to your mission when and if the opportunity arises.
Designated Fund
A designated fund allows a donor to focus charitable giving on a specific agency or purpose. A donor can establish a designated fund for your organization, for example. Over time, the community foundation's staff manages the distributions from the fund according to the terms the donor establishes.
Contact us when a donor approaches you about making a gift to your organization over time or with certain parameters around milestones and achievements. Designated funds often can “save” a gift to your organization in cases where the donor is not comfortable transferring a lump sum.
This newsletter is provided for informational purposes only. It is not intended as legal, accounting, or financial planning advice.