For You as a Donor

For You as a Donor – a best practice for your charitable giving through a Catholic Community Foundation Donor Advised Fund.

You make charitable contributions to your favorite organizations every year.  But do your total contributions provide you with the best tax deduction opportunities each year so as to increase giving opportunities?

Often, our charitable contributions will not be significant enough to list separately on our tax returns and we end up taking the standard deduction.  What if there was a way to bundle the contributions across several years?

Here is where a Donor Advised Fund might be of considerable assistance.  When you establish a Donor Advised Fund at the Catholic Community Foundation, the full amount of your initial contribution qualifies as a charitable donation in the year it is made.

Having opened the account, you can now request the Catholic Community Foundation send specific contributions from the Donor Advised Fund to your favorite charities.  You can do this the same year and/or over a period of years.  

While you are supporting your favorite charities through a Donor Advised Fund, the Fund itself continues to grow Also, you can always add to your Donor Advised Fund at any time.  Any additional contributions to the fund are also considered charitable gifts in the year they are received into the Donor Advised Fund.

For Your Parish or favorite Catholic organization – to grow investments through an Agency Fund.  When your parish or favorite Catholic organization has funds that are being held for a specific purpose, e.g. a building fund, for a time in the future, an Agency Fund at the Catholic Community Foundation will offer an opportunity for the funds to grow while awaiting the time for use in benefitting the parish.

For the future of Your Parish and/or other Catholic organization – as with most organizations, parishes and Catholic agencies experience an ebb and flow of funds over time.  Regular gifts and weekly collections are necessary for continued operations.  Such gifts are generally made from parishioner and/or other donor income.  Yet, little, if any, funding remains available for the sustaining needs of the organization.

Establishing and coordinating ongoing funding efforts of an Endowment Fund can address financial needs to sustain the organization over the longer term.  Anyone can establish an Endowment Fund at the Catholic Community Foundation for their parish or other Catholic organization.  Once established, the Fund offers an annual income to the organization based on the Endowment agreement established with the Catholic Community Foundation.

While the amount to start an endowment is relatively small, the size of the fund will determine the annual amount that is available to the benefitting organization or parish.  For this reason, it is always important to promote the growth of the Endowment Fund.  

While anyone can donate to an endowment fund in any amount at any time, we encourage gifts of assets – such as appreciated securities, real estate, or distributions from retirement accounts – rather than cash from income, whenever possible.  Asset gifts often provide greater tax advantages and can make a more substantial long-term impact.

Each of these Funds is managed to ensure the best opportunity for growth while ensuring all investments are within the US Conference of Catholic Bishop’s for Socially Responsible Investing guidelines. As demonstrated over time, said investment strategy does not mean you sacrifice opportunities for fund growth.

Reach out to us at the Catholic Community Foundation today!  Together, let us see how we can help your parish and/or your favorite Catholic organization improve their financial position and, perhaps we can help you find ways to better support them as well.

Please Note:  Individuals should consult with their own professional advisors before making any financial or charitable decisions.