Year End: Give Now, Distribute Later

By William High

A common dilemma faced by many at year end is the need to make a year end contribution but without any clear idea of where to give it. Faced with this dilemma, many will choose to simply not make the gift. But there is an option: a donor advised fund.

Through a donor advised fund, you may make an immediate and year end contribution, take your deduction but not actually give away the proceeds until the following tax year or later. Deduct now and give later. Through the donor advised fund, you can, in essence, park your gift and take your time on where you want to ultimately make your gift.

A donor advised fund is simple to set up. You can set one up online at our website. It takes about 10 minutes to complete a donor advised fund application. Thus, in practice (though not recommended) a person could set up a donor advised fund online on December 31 and mail their check with a postmark of that date. Their deduction for that tax year would be achieved, and they would still be able to give away the proceeds in the following tax year.

A donor advised fund is the simple way to maximize charity.

William High is the President of the Servant Christian Community Foundation. You can contact him at whigh@servantchristian.com.

Giving in the News: 70% Plan to Give in the Holidays

70% of Americans Plan to Give During the Holidays, Survey Finds

Chronicle of Philanthropy

October 27, 2008

By Cassie J. Moore

Despite the bad economy, almost seven out of 10 adults plan to donate the same amount online as they did in the 2007 holiday season, according to a study released today.

The survey, which was conducted in late September, after the financial crisis erupted, found that slightly more than half of the Americans who use the Internet plan to make an online contribution to charity during the holidays.

It was conducted by Convio, an Austin, Tex., company that provides Web-based software to charitie and JupiterResearch, a New York research company, estimated that nearly 176 million Americans are Internet users. The study’s questions focused exclusively on online-giving habits of people who use the Internet.

Short Update: Passion Awards

I just wanted to give a short update: as we celebrated our annual Thurman Mitchell Servant Leadership Celebration on Monday, November 3rd, and we pray the event was an encouragement!

We had over 1,100 people attend the evening, and we gave $144,000 away in grants to 22 ministries. One of the highlights for me was the unveiling of another kind of gift, a non-cash gift: a bus to two collaborating ministries that desperately needed a transportation solution.

If you didn’t make it this year, make sure you attend next year’s!