When we talk about financial values with clients, we are talking about their deepest connections between their money and the world they live in. Many people want to give back to communities and institutions that gave much to them or support more distant causes that align with the world they wish to see. Helping give money away is both a joy and a challenge.
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| I am deeply involved in giving back to my high school: this was at an alumni reunion |
Besides figuring out how much and to whom you want to give, there are many different vehicles and tax treatments for gifts: Any charity will take cash, and when you give cash, you can deduct that from your taxes when you itemize deductions. If you don't itemize, you may be able to give directly from an IRA and simply not recognize the income, getting the same benefit as a deduction. Many larger charities will accept donations of appreciated stock. This allows you to take a tax deduction on the market value of the gift, while avoiding paying capital gains tax on
What if you could get the best of all of these benefits? A
is a special type of charitable account that gives you the ability to:
- Give large gifts!
- Make the gift as easy as possible for the receiving charity.
- Have exact control over the timing, frequency and size of ongoing gifts.
- Take large tax deductions, in the tax year you need them most.
- Avoid paying capital gains on appreciated stock.
So, how does it work? A Donor Advised Fund is administered by a special type of non-profit that handles the regulatory compliance of complex charitable giving for you. You simply open an account and fund it with either cash or appreciated stock or property. Like giving to a charity, you receive a tax deduction in the year that you move the money into the DAF account. This allows you to give large gifts of appreciated stock in years that you need to take a particularly large tax deduction. This also allows you to lump multiple years of donations into one tax year, especially if your giving doesn't normally exceed your standard deduction. When you want to send money to a charity, you just instruct, or "advise," that funds be granted out to the charity.
What sort of problems does it solve? Using a Donor Advised Fund allows you more control over what assets you use to donate and what tax years you take your deductions. This is very useful for if you give to charity regularly, but don't give enough to need to itemize deductions. If you have large or recurring gifts, the DAF sends out a check or bank transfer directly to the charity, making it quicker and easier for them to receive and administer than sending stock or getting them to set up a recurring donation. There are great tax benefits to you and great cost and effort savings to the receiving charity.
Where can I open an account like this? If you work with an investment advisor, they can set up an account for you. We custody through TD Ameritrade and use American Endowment Foundation or iGiftFund to administer the accounts. Charles Schwab also has a very user friendly account.
What next? If you are a frequent and generous donor to charitable causes, have appreciated stock you would like to give or simply want more control over your charitable donations, a Donor Advised Fund may make sense for you. Check out Schwab Charitable, or work with your advisor to open one!
