Welcome to week number six in our Seven Pillar Series. And this week we are going to focus on Philanthropy. And I think this is a topic that can really hit home with a lot of people. Nearly 70% of the US population donates to charity.* But not all charitable giving is created equal. And putting together a philanthropic strategy can help maximize the giving you’re looking to do. Now there’s a lot of ways in which we can strategize in how to gift, but this week we’re going to touch on three of the most common ways that we work with our clients to maximize their gifting strategy.
The first one is what’s called a donor advised fund. And a lot of times this gets used when we have a small business owner, or somebody who doesn’t itemize their deductions, but gifts on a very consistent basis. And a donor advised fund is used to place a large chunk of assets into a fund that you can take the charitable deduction, all in an upfront year, and then spend it over the course of the next few years. And it’s a great way to maximize your tax strategy.
The second way we work with our clients on a regular basis is through gifting appreciated stock. Rather than just give cash, you can gift an asset, say an individual stock that you’ve seen a lot of appreciation from, and you can gift that away in lieu of cash.
The third way, and this one has really come up a lot more in the last couple of years is what’s called a Qualified Charitable Distribution, or a QCD. This comes into play for a lot of retirees who are at their Required Minimum Distribution age and are looking to give charitably, especially to the churches is probably the most common area. And if done properly, you can have a check issued from your IRA to that charitable organization, and in doing so you prevent that money from becoming taxable on your income, but it counts as your required minimum distribution and so it is a way to maximize how you are gifting.
There are lots more ways in order to maximize your gifting strategy and to reach out and benefit charities. If you’re thinking that these are ways that you aren’t aware of, or haven’t heard from, I urge you to look into it or give us a call and let us help. And then join us next week for the last week of our 7 Pillar Series.
*Source: Nonprofits Source
The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual.
Securities offered through LPL Financial, Member FINRA/SIPC. Investment Advice offered through Priebe Wealth, a registered investment advisor and separate entity from LPL Financial.