Creative Giving Creates Greater Impact

Certain posts on Twitter go viral because they’re so relatable, like this one from a mom in North Carolina: “My 8-year-old daughter met a girl at summer camp last year named ‘Internet.’ I said no way, that can’t be her name, but my daughter has been adamant. For almost a year we’ve been having this discussion. ANTOINETTE. I just found out her name is Antoinette.”

While this little misunderstanding led to a hilarious anecdote, the stakes of accuracy are often higher – especially when it comes to your relationships, bank balance, or taxes… and tax laws in the United States are especially complicated. In fact, it may surprise you to know:

The tax code is over 74,000 pages long.
Over the past ten years the tax code has been amended more than 4,000 times.
Even Albert Einstein couldn’t understand taxes. According to his accountant, he once admitted, “The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax.”

The trick is learning to navigate your financial world wisely. Understanding current tax law can open a whole new world of generosity for you, and compound gifts for the ministries you care about, you just need the right tools. Here are a few tax-wise giving tools to consider:

Giving from your IRA. If you’re at least 72 years old, you can donate your required minimum distribution.
Gifts of Stock. When you donate stock to a nonprofit that has appreciated for more than one year, you can avoid Capital Gains, deduct the fair market value, and have a greater impact.
Donor Advised Funds. When you contribute to your DAF you are generally eligible for an immediate tax deduction, and your funds grow tax-free.

Smart giving tools make it easy to reduce your tax burden and support a favorite nonprofit.

Not sure which tools are right for you? Reach out to us and we’ll help you identify the giving tools that make the most tax sense for you.

Just as the Proverbs promise, “Listen to advice and accept discipline, and at the end, you will be counted among the wise.”