As the year comes to a rapid close, we know there are many things on your to do list, and many people are considering their final charitable gifts for the year.  Community Foundation of Central Georgia has several tips to help you make the most of your charitable giving so you can enjoy the true spirit of the giving season. 

Talk to Your Advisor
It’s always a good idea to consult with your CPA, attorney or financial advisor before making a significant gift to understand the impact on your taxes and estate.

Create a Giving Plan
Review the charitable gifts you have already made this year so you can think strategically about your remaining gifts for 2024.  If you use your donor advised fund at the Community Foundation for your charitable giving, we can do that any time of year and ease the stress of adding one more decision to your year-end to-do list. 

Plan Your Timing
A gift by check counts toward this year’s taxes as long as it is postmarked by Dec. 31, even if it is not cashed by the recipient until the following year. Gifts by credit card are complete when your credit card is charged. Stock transfers can take longer to process, so be sure to allow enough time for those. Waiting until late December may be too late to make necessary arrangements.

Give in Honor of a Loved One
Whether it be a friend, a family member, or a valued community citizen, this is a great way to honor the ones you love while helping others in need. You can make a gift to a fund at the Community Foundation in their honor and CFCG will send them an acknowledgement card on your behalf.  

Consider a Stock Gift
Appreciated assets, such as stocks, are great charitable gifts because you will receive an income tax deduction for the fair market value of the transferred stock and avoid capital gains tax on the appreciated value. Please consult your tax advisor before making a stock donation and remember that the stock must be transferred rather than sold and the cash used for the charitable gift. 

Think About a Qualified Charitable Distribution
If you are receiving taxable income from a retirement plan, there are tax-advantaged ways to use these assets to support charitable organizations important to you. For example, if you are 70 ½ or older, you can donate up to $105,000 from your IRA to a qualified charity, without counting the distribution as income. While you cannot make an IRA Charitable Distribution gift to a donor advised fund, there are several other types of funds at the Community Foundation that can receive an IRA gift, such as scholarship and endowment funds. 

Create a Donor Advised Fund – Give Now, Decide Later.
If you are short on time this year but need to make a significate charitable gift before year-end for tax purposes, we can help you with that, too!  One solution is to create a Donor Advised Fund at the Community Foundation before year-end to claim the charitable tax deduction and make grants from your fund later to the organizations you want to support.  This is one scenario where a fund at the Community Foundation can really help ease the stress of quickly making these decisions. 

Leave a Legacy
If you don’t need to make a charitable gift this year, you can always leave a gift in your will to create a fund at your death.  

Let Your Community Foundation Help
Whenever you are ready to give, we are here to help!  The Community Foundation of Central Georgia can help you be strategic and impactful with your charitable giving by sharing our knowledge of the local nonprofit community and broad charitable needs of our region.

If you have questions about making year-end giving as meaningful and straightforward as possible, CFCG is happy to help! Call us at 478-750-9338.