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Philanthropy

& Charitable Giving

for the nonprofits you love—and love to support

Earning wealth and building up your assets to support yourself is quite an achievement, but you also understand the value of others. For you, it’s not enough to just support yourself. You want to make a difference in the world by helping others overcome their obstacles. However, it’s difficult to find the time or develop the skills to provide people the assistance in the areas they need. That’s why there are many different nonprofit organizations that exist to handle these challenges and help people.

Nonprofit organizations rely for the most part on donor contributions to continue operating. This is where people like you come in. You have three things to give; your time, talent and treasure. While all three are valuable, the one most need on a day-to-day basis by nonprofit charities is your treasure.

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What is charitable giving?

A charitable donation is any gift of funds or assets to a nonprofit organization, such as a charity, place of worship or a private foundation. We firmly believe that most philanthropic individuals give to a charity because they are passionate about the nonprofits mission. However, there is an added bonus – donations given to nonprofit organizations are generally eligible for income tax deductions. Limitations may be placed on these deductions given whether you itemized or use the standard deduction, your income level, the type of asset being given, etc.

Most people who donate to nonprofit organizations do so in the form of cash, but you also have the option to give:

  • Property and real estate
  • Motor vehicles and boats
  • Stocks
  • Bonds
  • All forms of personal property

It’s important to keep a record of charitable donations to claim them for tax deductions. Many organizations will provide an annual statement for this purpose.

Charitable giving options

Charitable giving requires more consideration than simply diverting a number of funds to a 501(c)(3) organization. Our CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professionals will assess your financial resources and develop a personalized strategy to help you reach your donation goals in a tax efficient manner. We’ll determine what methods of giving are wise options for you and help you decide on how much you should give.

In addition to outright gifts of cash, securities, and personal property, you may want to consider more advanced options, including:

 

  • Donor-advised funds (DAFs) — A DAF is a charitable giving option in which a public charity is created to manage charitable donations on your behalf. When you donate funds to a DAF, you receive an immediate tax deduction. The DAF holds the funds until you direct it to give grants to charitable organizations. Many institutions like mutual funds offer this as an inexpensive option.
  • Private foundation — Instead of giving to directly to a not for profit, you might want to start your own instead. You can set up a private foundation registered as a nonprofit often using your family name. Each year grants are made from the private foundation to ensure your funds go toward the area of need that is important to you.
  • Charitable remainder trust (CRT) — A charitable remainder trust is a tax-exempt, irrevocable gift to charity that reduces your taxable income. However, the CRT disperses income to the beneficiaries, including perhaps yourself, for a specific period and the remaining funds are distributed to the designated nonprofit organization(s).
  • Charitable lead trust (CLT) — A charitable lead trust is like the reverse of a charitable remainder trust. After establishing the CLT and funding it, for which there is no deduction, the CLT pays the income from the trust to a nonprofit. The income payment does create a tax deduction each year. After a specified period, the assets in a CLT revert to the donor or some other beneficiary.
  • Charitable gift annuity (CGA) — In a charitable gift annuity, the donor transfers assets to a charitable organization. In return, the donor receives a stream of income from the charitable organization for a specified period. Because the donor retains some interest in the donation through the income payments, the tax deduction is not 100% of the money donated. Donations in a charitable gift annuity are irrevocable.
  • Pooled income fund — A pooled income fund is set up by a nonprofit in which non-related donors pool their money. The fund is invested on behalf of the donors who share proportionately in the income generated by the fund during the donor’s lifetime. A death, the donor’s portion of the fund reverts to the charity.

Build your charitable giving strategy with a CFP® professional at ProVise Management Group

You have funds to make a difference, and we have the team that knows how to help. We too give our time, talent and treasure to our community. Our clients love our CFP® professionals because we not only help you make the best decisions for your finances, but we also help you make the right decisions for you.

We always personalize financial strategies for each client based on their financial circumstances, risk tolerance, and personal beliefs and values. We will provide a plan for you at a fiduciary standard of care and offer an unconditional money-back guarantee. If for any reason you are not satisfied with your plan, simply return it to us and we will refund 100% of the fee paid. Once you’re ready to work together, we will create an implementation strategy and establish a monitoring system that meets your needs.

Are you ready to talk to a CFP® professional about building charitable giving into your financial strategy? Contact ProVise today for a complimentary consultation.

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Financial planning is not one big thing…it is hundreds of little things™. We will walk with you every step of the way through investments, debt payoffs and everything in between to help you reach the financial goals that matter most to you.

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