Year-end is closing in, and it’s easy to get overwhelmed by all the advice floating around about what to do about charitable giving before December 31.
?Giving to a community foundation on GivingTuesday creates a lasting impact by addressing diverse local needs and supporting smaller nonprofits. With deep community knowledge, community foundations ensure your gift is used effectively, often building endowments for long-term benefits. Their transparency and collaborative approach make them a powerful partner in creating a stronger, more resilient community.
Year-end is fast approaching! GivingTuesday is Tuesday, December 3. We hope you’ll consider a gift on that special day of giving.? We’re making it super easy for you! Here are four reminders that typically are among the most important for year-end charitable giving.?
- Give stock. Evaluate your highly-appreciated stock positions and use these assets to give to your fund at the Morton Community Foundation, coordinating with your tax and financial advisors to optimize your 2024 goals. Appreciated assets generally are far better charitable gifts than cash because you not only can take advantage of the income tax deduction, but also you can avoid capital gains tax.? When you donate stock, you’ll want to notify us of your gift, so we can be looking for the transfer in our account, immediately liquidate, and place the proceeds in the fund of your choice at the MCF.
- Use your donor-advised fund. Consider deploying a “bundling” or “bunching” technique by making a gift to your donor-advised fund at the Morton Community Foundation this calendar year that allows you to leverage itemized deductions (the standard deduction is very high, at least at the moment), and then use your donor-advised fund over the next few years to support your favorite charities.
- Explore a QCD. If you are age 70 ? or older, you should look into making a Qualified Charitable Distribution (“QCD”) to a designated or field-of-interest fund at the community foundation. Each spouse can give up to $105,000 in 2024, and the distributions will satisfy your RMDs if you’ve also reached that age. CLICK HERE to find out why the QCD is so powerful. Note that your donor-advised fund is not an eligible recipient, but there are lots of other ways you can leverage this tax-savvy giving opportunity.?
- Are you a Caterpillar employee or retiree? In support of Giving Tuesday, the Caterpillar Foundation will provide a limited-time 2:1 match through their Matching Gifts Program for global employee and U.S. retiree gifts made?December 2-6, 2024 (or once the match total reaches $2M USD). ?This includes donations to any of the 100+ individual endowment funds with the MCF.? Since the total dollars available for the 2:1 match are limited to $2M USD, you’ll want to get your donations made as early as possible, preferably Monday, Dec 2.? You may donate up to a total of $500 in increments of no less than $25.? Example:? A donation to your favorite MCF fund of $500, will trigger a $1,000 donation to that same fund by the Caterpillar Foundation, for a total gift of $1,500.
November is the time to set things in motion so you don’t get caught up in the year-end rush. Reach out to the Morton Community Foundation today! We are here for you!? Stop by our office at 135 S First Avenue, or call for an appointment with our Executive Director, Scott Witzig:?309-291-0434.
Wishing you and your family all the best for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.
The Morton Community Foundation Staff Scott Witzig, Executive Director Darcy Roecker, Administrative Manager
