Tax-savvy donations: how to embrace a new way to support River Alliance of Wisconsin’s mission
We are now entering the giving season! As a community of supporters, you fund almost ⅓ of River Alliance’s entire annual budget through your year-end gifts.
Many dedicated supporters of the River Alliance of Wisconsin make donations through cash, checks, and online gifts. Your generosity enables us to protect, restore, and celebrate Wisconsin’s waters, ensuring their health and vitality for generations to come.
Thank you for your vital support.
As we enter giving season, I invite you to consider a different, yet equally impactful way to support our cause:
- Donating stocks
- If you are 72 years old or better, donate through your Qualified Charitable Distribution from your IRA
- Donate out of your Donor Advised Fund
Stocks
Giving stocks can be a highly effective way to support the causes you care about. By contributing stocks to a nonprofit, you can potentially avoid capital gains tax that may be due if you sold these assets. Simultaneously, you could also receive a tax deduction for the full fair market value of the assets, as permitted by law.
This method of giving can multiply the impact of your generosity. Not only does it provide significant support for our mission, but it also potentially offers you financial benefits. It’s a win-win situation, amplifying the power of your philanthropy while optimizing your personal financial strategy.
Qualified Charitable Distribution from IRA
If you turned 70 ½ in 2019 or earlier, or if you turned 72 in 2020 or later, Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) is an innovative way of giving that could greatly enhance your impact and provide you with potential tax benefits.
As you may know, a QCD is a direct rollover of funds from your IRA, payable to a qualified charity such as the River Alliance of Wisconsin. QCDs can be counted towards satisfying your required minimum distributions (RMDs) for the year, as long as certain rules are met.
One of the key benefits of giving through QCDs is that the transferred amount does not count as taxable income. This can be especially beneficial if you’re not dependent on your IRA for daily living expenses, as it allows you to make use of these funds without increasing your tax burden.
Switching to making your donation to River Alliance through QCDs will not only provide you with tax benefits, but it will also bring a significant positive impact on our mission.
Donor Advised Funds
Some donors have started shifting towards giving out of their Donor Advised Funds (DAFs). This approach provides several benefits such as immediate tax benefits, flexibility in grant recommendations, and the ability to grow the fund tax-free. Moreover, it simplifies the process of managing and tracking donations on your end.
DAFs can also provide a more strategic approach to philanthropy, enabling you to consolidate, accrue, and distribute your philanthropic resources with ease. Some River Alliance donors make gifts through their Donor Advised Funds held at Madison Community Foundation, Jewish Community Foundation, Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region, Natural Resources Foundation, and others.
By considering a shift from cash gifts to donating stocks, out of your DAF, or from your IRA, you would continue to enrich the ecosystems and support communities who depend on our waterways, while also taking advantage of the benefits offered by this giving method.
Your gift makes an impact
If any of these other ways to give spark your interest and you have been making gifts via cash in the past, we understand that this represents a shift. However, rest assured that our team is equipped to handle such transactions smoothly and efficiently, ensuring that your gift will continue to contribute to our mission of empowering people to protect and restore Wisconsin’s rivers.
You have trusted us with your cash gifts in the past. We believe this new or additional method of giving could further enhance the positive impact of your philanthropy on our state’s precious waterways and will be used with the same level of responsibility and dedication.
We continue to appreciate and depend on online gifts made via credit card and mailed in checks. The entire community of support for River Alliance is absolutely vital and every level of gift is equally valued.
We encourage you to consult with your financial advisor or IRA administrator about the potential benefits of making these types of gifts. If you decide to proceed, please inform us so we can look out for the transfer and ensure it is properly recorded.
For more information, or if you wish to discuss this opportunity further, please do not hesitate to reach out to me directly. We are here to support you in every step of this process and ensure that your generous contributions continue to flow towards the important work we do.
Again, thank you for your enduring commitment to the River Alliance of Wisconsin. We look forward to continuing this journey together, protecting and celebrating the rivers that are so integral to our state’s beauty and well-being.
– Karen Anderson, Development Director
This message is made possible by generous donors who believe people have the power to protect and restore water.
Help River Alliance of Wisconsin celebrate our 30th anniversary! Support our work with your contribution today.