Do these 6 things right now to improve your year-end giving experience
As someone who wants to steward their resources well, you may ask how you can make the most impact with what God has entrusted to you. This question is even more important as you consider how best to finish 2022 strong with your charitable year-end giving.
Here are 6 things you can do right now to improve your giving experience for this year’s end and the years to come.
1. Don’t wait to give
The beautiful thing about a donor advised fund is that you can contribute funds any time throughout the year and they all qualify for that year’s deductions.There’s no reason to wait until the 11th hour and delay contributions that you want to qualify for 2022 deductions! Rather than setting a reminder to send remaining grants on December 1st, go ahead and send them today! Take a look at these 2022 year-end giving deadlines and strategic giving opportunities to help you finish well by December 31.
2. Plan for next year now
While you finalize 2022 giving, have conversations with your family about next year’s giving strategy. If you’re unsure where to give, we’ll help you discover organizations in your area doing great things. Looking ahead makes space for flexiblity, creativity, and even extra generosity. Walk through our Giving Strategy Guidebook together and make a solid plan. For example, planning allow you to move financial contributions to your favorite organizations to earlier in the year to provide vital support and encouragement as they need it, especially now in light of increased wages and cost of living for support teams plus supply cost increases.
3. Read our giving guide
Each year we publish our year-end giving guide to help you make the most of all the Lord has given you. It’s filled with inspiration, ideas, tips, and key dates for year-end giving. For example, if you participate in stock, mutual fund and eCheck giving, they must be initiated by December 16th to ensure it gets to NCF before December 31st. Real estate gifts need to be initiated by November 29th. These may seem like early deadlines, but they give your institution time to process the transactions. You’ll find more tips and creative strategies to make the most impact in our guide to the 2022 giving season, so check it out!
4. Visit the USPS ASAP
The United States Postal Service (USPS) – try as it does – is slow these days. I know this because a prayer card we sent to the Chicago office in August just now arrived in October! The IRS requires a USPS postmark on or before December 31st (which is a Saturday, by the way). They don’t recognize FedEx or UPS dates, so the best thing to do is get your check in the mail today postmarked USPS. Even better, send your payment digitally or bring it to us in person.
5. Forecast giving like you do business
Many givers we serve are business leaders and very familiar with creating strategic plans and executing on their visions for the year. Either that, or our givers work for great leaders who do this. Have you done this for your family and your charitable giving? Have you asked the Lord what He would have your family do? Take time during the Thanksgiving season to ask the Lord if He is calling you to do anything more this year, next year, the following three years, or even the next 20. Setting a financial finish line can help – it allows you to determine how much to give away now and project your future giving.
Let’s be less reactive and more proactive in business and generosity.
6. Talk to charities
Reach out to some of your favorite local nonprofits and ask them what they need. Consider asking these questions:
- What’s a pain point your organization has now?
- How can I pray for your organization?
- How can I contribute my LIFE (Labor, Influence, Finances, Expertise) to help grow your organization and its impact?
- What is something your organization needs but would never invest in?
Consider your big dreams for the future and how you can contribute from them to the kingdom through your generosity.