In Matthew Chapter 25, Christ advised us to be wise stewards of our time, talent, and treasure. But in our ever-changing world, it can be difficult to figure out how to make your charitable contributions as meaningful as you want them to be.
A Donor Advised Fund, or DAF, is one way to steward your financial gifts in a way that both benefits you from a tax perspective and benefits those to whom you give with gifts that are both timely and significant.
If you already have a DAF, you can give today!
A Donor Advised Fund works like this:
Working with a sponsoring organization, you can contribute your assets to a donor-advised fund. Depending on the rules of the sponsoring organization, you can contribute publicly traded securities (stocks, bonds, ETFs, mutual funds), real estate, fine art, cash, IPO and restricted stock, cryptocurrency, and even oil and gas royalty interests. Some of these donations even help you avoid capital gains taxes – be sure to ask your financial professional for details.
You get an immediate tax deduction for the full market value for any long-term investments, but you don’t have to make your charitable contributions right away.
Your contribution will gain interest and grow while you continue to give – whether through normal tithing or as an emergency donation in response to a crisis. You choose the charity, the timing, and the amount.
However you choose to give, your DAF also simplifies record-keeping by consolidating multiple donations into one tax receipt, streamlining the year-end tax process.