Amanda Malloy, ASA Director of Development
I was asked recently about alternative ways to donate to the ASA. Especially in times like these, many people are looking for less traditional ways to support their favorite charities to ensure they can continue to do their important work. The good news is there are many ways to donate that can be advantageous for the donor. I thought I’d outline a few of them here.
Giving through an IRA provides great tax advantages. For those who are 70 ½ and older and required to take the minimum distribution, this can be especially advantageous. It allows you to stay in a lower tax bracket while meeting your required minimum distribution (RMD). The portion of the RMD you donate is not considered taxable income, so you can end up in a lower tax bracket while still meeting all the RMD requirements. You just need to make sure the gift amount is distributed directly from your IRA to your charity of choice.
A Donor Advised Fund is like a personal charitable savings account managed by a nonprofit such as a community foundation or the nonprofit arm of a financial services firm (like Vanguard, Schwab, and Fidelity). In a donor advised fund (DAF), you can bundle gifts of two years or more into a single tax year and then request distributions to your charities of choice on an annual basis. This allows you, as the donor, to itemize deductions for that tax year while still providing an annual revenue stream for your favorite charities. DAFs rose dramatically in popularity after the standard deduction was increased as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.
Employer Matching Gift Programs are a great way to support charities. Many employers sponsor matching gift programs and will match donations their employees make. This can double the impact of your donation. Typically, all it takes is for you to submit a matching gift request form to your employer once you have made your donation. Companies usually match at a 1:1 ratio, but some will match at a 2:1, 3:1, or even a 4:1 ratio. There is an employer matching program “look up” tool located on our donation page. You can write in your company’s name to find out if they have a program in place, what the match ratio is, and what you need to do to submit a request form.
If you would like more information or have questions, please let me know. I can be reached by email. Thank you for your membership and support of the ASA!
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