Keep these end-of-year giving tips in mind

As you work to complete your client’s year-end financial needs, charitable giving is likely on the list. Keep these tips in mind to make the most of this season of giving: 

Stock gifts are still effective 

Even with the market’s late November rally, 2022’s rough stock market may still be a concern for some of your charitable clients. Remember, though, that it is unlikely that all of a client’s holdings have had an unusually down year. Making gifts of appreciated stock to a donor-advised fund or other type of fund at the Community Foundation is still one of the most tax-savvy ways for clients to support favorite charitable causes because capital gains tax can be avoided on the appreciated stock.  

If a client is over 70 ½, consider a Qualified Charitable Distribution 

A Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) is a very smart way for a client to support charitable causes. If your client is over the age of 70 ½, the client can direct up to $100,000 from an IRA to certain charities, including a field-of-interest, designated, unrestricted, or scholarship fund at the Community Foundation. If a client is over the age of 72, QCDs count toward the Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) for the year. That means the client avoids income tax on the distributed funds. Our team can work with you to evaluate whether the QCD is a good fit for a particular client. 

Clients can use donor-advised funds to do as much good as possible 

The team at the Community Foundation can help a client maximize an already-established donor-advised fund, or set up a donor-advised fund if the client is not yet a Community Foundation fundholder. Please reach out to the Community Foundation to learn more about how “bunching” at year end can maximize a client’s tax benefits through a donor-advised fund, and at the same time ensure that nonprofits are supported as community needs continue to grow in choppy economic waters. Grantmaking from donor-advised funds continues to rise, especially as donors catch on to the ways a donor-advised fund can help with tax planning and, importantly, keep their giving levels consistent even in lower income years.  

Watch the calendar 

An important note: Please reach out to our team to find out when certain transactions must occur to be completed during this tax year, including clients’ checks to funds at the Community Foundation which must be postmarked or hand-delivered no later than December 31. Gifts of marketable securities also need to be fully transferred by December 31, so please contact us in plenty of time for our team to process and receive your clients’ transfers.  

The team at the Community Foundation is ready to help you fulfill your client’s year-end giving objectives. Please contact Alison O’Carroll, director and philanthropic counsel, at 404.333.0241 or aocarroll@cfgreateratlanta.org if we can help in any way.