Legacy

Giving plan series #3: Give to your fund in the wisest way

Once you’ve created your giving mission statement and set your giving goals, it’s time to give. One of the best things about a Giving Fund with the National Christian Foundation (NCF) is that you can gift many types of assets into your fund.

Then, you can take time to prayerfully decide how much of that money should go to your favorite charities.

The most common type of gift is cash – typically physical checks sent via U.S. mail, or credit card and eCheck (bank account), gifts you can make on the Give to your Fund page (if you are logged in to your fund).

But if you’re like most people, much of your wealth is tied up in your non-cash assets, such as stocks, business interests, and real estate. Yet, most all of your giving is coming from cash – the tiniest fraction of what you have to give. What if you flipped this paradigm, stopped writing checks, and started giving from your real wealth instead?

Giving non-cash assets is an incredibly powerful way to make a bigger impact. You can send more to your favorite causes than you ever dreamed possible by changing what you give instead of focusing solely on how much you give. Every year, billions of dollars that could have gone to Christian ministry go instead to capital gains and estate taxes. Again, just a little planning can make a big difference.


How it works

When you give an appreciated, non-cash asset to NCF, we liquidate the asset and put the net proceeds into your Giving Fund. You can give the whole thing or sometimes even just a portion of it, and the asset is sold at the appropriate time. You receive an immediate tax deduction for the fair market value of your gift and potentially reduce or even eliminate capital gains taxes.

But best of all, more goes to ministry. Instead of cutting into your long-term savings or retirement goals, you may cut into your tax bill, freeing up more money to go to your favorite charities.


Three main types of gifts

Odds are, you have appreciated stocks or mutual funds in your investment portfolio, and perhaps you also own a business or piece of property. If so, there’s no reason not to consider these types of gifts to multiply your impact right away:

  • Stocks and mutual funds – By working with your broker to give these into your Giving Fund, you’ll potentially reduce or eliminate capital gains taxes, improve your cash flow, and have the chance to rebalance your portfolio tax-free. Learn more in our quick stock giving video.
  • Real estate –By giving appreciated real estate to NCF prior to the sale, you potentially avoid capital gains taxes on the gifted portion, and you will likely receive an income tax deduction for the fair market value of the gift. Listen to Jamie and Sarah Baessler’s story on our Inside Giving podcast to hear how they were able to make make unique gifts of real estate and even water rights that enabled them to save taxes and give more.
  • Business interests – Many business owners have a heart to give charitably but feel hindered by their limited cash flow and the high taxation of their businesses. Our team at NCF can help you give some or all of your business outright. We also have another solution to help you give a non-voting interest in your company, receive a substantial tax deduction, and still maintain management oversight.

So, whatever your financial position, it’s clear that giving these assets – instead of writing checks from post-tax dollars – is a wise way to make the biggest possible difference for your favorite causes.

For full instructions on how to give these and other assets into your Giving Fund, log in, select “give” at the top of the page, and select an option on the Give to your fund page.

 


 

Up Next

Giving plan series #2: Set your giving goals

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