Donor Advised Funds
I’ve become a fan of Donor Advised Funds if chosen wisely. There are many types- and specific giving programs for individual charities. I prefer using a large charitable fund as a donor advised fund such as the Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund. The downside to these programs however are the requirement for a large contribution to open the fund, usually in the range of $5000 to $10,000. But once opened, the donor can choose a variety of qualified charities to recommend and make donations in small amounts, e.g. $100 or more. The positive benefit of using this approach is the fund invests the money for the donor over time, so there is the potential for increased growth of the original gift. There may also be a charitable tax deduction in the year of the original gift to the fund. Donor advised funds are much simpler to use than establishing your own foundation, but they may be out of reach for many potential donors simply due to initial funding requirements. I’m working on gathering links and information to useful sites about charity, giving programs, etc. I’ll use the search engines and firsthand knowledge to begin, but if you have any recommendations please let me know!Â
Sphere: Related ContentFiled under: Giving Options
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Here is a great website for potential donors. This charity sets up donor advised funds. Their investment strategy allows for maximum annual increases even with small gifts. They are a 501(c)3 so everything given to them is tax-deductible. They work directly with donors and are great about allowing the donor to choose which charitable causes they would like to benefit.
Have you checked out the “Charitable Giving Options Search Engine” on google? It’s a great resource for charitable giving and information.
Melodie- Great to know about that website- will include it in the list. And no, I was not aware of that Google resource… amazing what we don’t know is out there. Thanks!