We sincerely appreciate the chance to work alongside you and your clients to achieve charitable objectives and enhance the quality of life in our communities. At the Community Foundation, we are committed to being your reliable partner, ensuring the smooth implementation of your clients' charitable giving strategies.

In this edition, we focus on year-end and share some strategies for you to consider with your clients. 

Sincerely,  

Ryan Douglas  

Senior Charitable Giving Advisor 

“Bunching” + Donor Advised Fund 

Over 90% of tax returns are filed with the standard deduction. Said another way, many of your clients are not itemizing and therefore not necessarily taking tax deductions for their charitable gifts. With the “bunching” strategy, an individual/family could accelerate multiple years' worth of giving into a single tax year, which could push them into an itemized return and therefore may have the ability to write off charitable donations.

Roth Conversion + Charitable Gifts 

Many advisors are working with their clients on converting some or all their Traditional IRA into a Roth IRA for tax planning purposes. We’ve seen more advisors and donors utilize a Donor Advised Fund to help offset some or all of the tax liability created from the Roth conversion.

QCD + Designated Fund 

Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCD’s) can be a powerful tax-planning strategy for clients over the age of 70 ½. The government allows individuals to give up to $105,000 per year directly from their IRA to charity. With IRA assets in the trillions, individuals are sometimes in a position where their Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) is large enough that they don’t need the additional income. Rather than taking the RMD and inflating their Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) which could push them into higher tax brackets, disrupt their Social Security and other benefits, some individuals are choosing to bypass that income completely using a QCD. For some, those distributions can be quite large and while they like the idea of being charitable, they aren’t excited about the major windfall into the nonprofit’s hands. In these cases, individuals have established a Designated Endowment fund to permanently support their favorite nonprofit or cause. 

Appreciated Securities 

With markets near all-time highs, now is a great time to remind clients that gifts of highly appreciated securities are a great tax planning strategy. Why should a client write a check to a nonprofit with after-tax dollars when they could send highly appreciated securities with the same value and a better tax-advantaged outcome? 

Endow Iowa Update 

For nearly 20 years, the Endow Iowa Tax Credit has been a valuable tool to maximize your clients’ support of Iowa causes they care about. As of November 1, there is an estimated $1.3 million credits remaining.  

End of Year Deadlines

As your clients consider year-end giving decisions, mark your calendar with these important dates to ensure your clients achieve their giving goals through the Community Foundation. 

Grant recommendations – Due by noon on Monday, December 30 

Credit card contributions – Submitted by 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, December 31 

Contributions by check – Due Tuesday, December 31 in the office or postmarked by this date 

Please allow additional time for processing gifts such as stock, real estate or tangible personal property that require advanced planning.

The generosity and commitment of your clients to the needs and opportunities of our communities have made a meaningful impact. Thank you for helping your clients invest in the projects and organizations that not only make us better together, but better forever.    

Whether serving as a local charitable giving resource or maximizing tax savings, our team works as part of your team to offer giving opportunities to meet clients’ financial and charitable goals. Whether in person or virtually, I am eager to connect and discuss how we can help meet and exceed your expectations, and come alongside you as a partner in serving your clients.