As the year ends, generosity is in full swing, with nonprofits receiving nearly half of their donations from individuals in the final quarter of each year. In this spirit of giving, we’re sharing four top ways New York donors maximize their charitable impact.
1. COMMUNITY NEEDS FUND: AMPLIFY YOUR IMPACT
By contributing to our Community Needs Fund, you can support dozens of nonprofits working to address urgent city challenges. This approach saves you time, while our program area experts direct funds to hungry New Yorkers, job training, education for children, housing, care for older adults, and more. When you give to our Community Needs Fund, your donation goes directly to nonprofits doing this important work. Join us in meeting New York City’s urgent needs!
2. DONOR-ADVISED FUNDS: EASY AND EXPANSIVE GIVING
Many of our donors already use donor-advised funds, or DAFs. They tell us that DAFs allow them to give exponentially more because they can give a variety of assets when it makes sense for them, and then they can recommend grants to nonprofits all year long.
Donor-advised funds are like a charitable checkbook that lets you streamline your giving (no more collecting piles of tax receipts), give tax-efficiently (fuel your DAF with appreciated stock), easily suggest and keep track of grants online, allow friends and family to give from (and to) your fund, and access our briefings with issue experts, philanthropic guidance, and more!
3. BUNCHING CONTRIBUTIONS: TAX-WISE GIVING
Bunching, or consolidating charitable contributions that you would normally make over multiple years, can be a smart way to save on taxes. We recommend talking to your accountant to see if this strategy makes sense for you and your household. Bunching is easy with a donor-advised fund, because you can get the tax deduction now on the full amount of the charitable gift, while you let the investment returns grow tax-free inside the fund, which allows for larger grants to charities.
4. PUT YOUR IRA QUALIFIED CHARITABLE DISTRIBUTION TO WORK
You worked hard building your retirement assets, now it’s their turn to get to work. For those age 70½ or older, donating through an IRA Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) can yield tax benefits by satisfying required minimum distributions, reducing adjusted gross income, and avoiding certain tax thresholds.
Remember, your QCD can’t go to donor-advised funds or private foundations. But you can use your QCD to directly support grantees addressing New York’s greatest needs by giving it to our Community Needs Fund (see #1). You also can use your QCD to support a funder collaborative, like our GoVoteNYC fund that gets New Yorkers to the polls. Or you can create a permanent fund that uses our grantmaking staff to identify nonprofits aligned with your values. Contact us to discuss your options—giving@nyct-cfi.org or (212) 686-0010 ext. 363.