Ways to give with The Trust
I want to...
Plan my estate
Get guidance on giving
Memorialize a loved one
Support the most urgent needs in our region
Give with my family
Create a giving circle
Give anonymously
Solve tax challenges
Plan my estate
Leave a meaningful legacy
We can help you leave an enduring charitable legacy that will respond to tomorrow’s challenges: safeguard the environment, provide opportunity, and care for your community. We have a variety of options to help you leave a powerful gift that will champion the causes dear to you for generations to come.
Get guidance on giving
Meet with our philanthropic advising experts
With so many nonprofits out there, it can be hard to decide where to give. That’s why people partner with The Trust for their giving. Our deep bench of local experts is available to help you create a strategy and identify groups that align with your values and objectives.
Memorialize a loved one
Create a lasting tribute
Memorial funds are a powerful way to create an enduring and meaningful tribute to a loved one. They are simple to create and share with friends and family who would like to contribute. You can name a memorial fund in honor of your loved one and dedicate it to the causes they cared about to pay homage to their legacy.
Support the most urgent needs in our region
One gift can help hundreds of nonprofits
You can give a one-time or recurring gift to our Community Needs Fund, which pools contributions to quickly address pressing local challenges. We connect your generosity with effective nonprofits that are feeding hungry families, training job seekers, housing migrants, caring for older adults, educating children, and more.
You also can make an enduring gift through a permanent fund. Our professional grantmaking staff will identify the most urgent needs in the region and combine your fund with others to make a difference. In both cases, the power of your gift is multiplied.
Give with my family
Make giving a family affair
Giving across generations is a great way to bring families together. You can choose to include family and friends as advisors to your fund, recommend grants to celebrate life milestones, and more. Wherever you are on your giving journey, and whatever your giving vehicle, whether a donor-advised fund or family foundation, The Trust’s team of philanthropy experts is ready to offer support and guidance as your needs evolve.
Create a giving circle
Give with your community
It’s so easy to give with friends and family when you create a giving circle fund at The Trust. You can invite people to join, pool contributions, collaborate to identify nonprofits that fulfill your giving goals, and choose which grants to make. Our experts here at The Trust can answer questions or introduce you to organizations. We handle the administration so you can focus on the fun of grantmaking and building community. You also can join one of our existing giving circles.
Give anonymously
Choose how you share your giving story
At The Trust, you can choose to give anonymously and easily select who from your fund is credited for individual grants. You also can rename your fund at any time, or make it anonymous for a certain time period.
Solve tax challenges
We have charitable solutions
Charitable giving is a meaningful way to make a difference in the world, and it can bring substantial tax benefits. We can work with you or your professional advisor to craft solutions that fit your needs, such as charitable remainder trusts, charitable lead trusts, and more.
In your lifetime
Giving today
Set up a donor-advised fund to recommend grants or give to our Community Needs Fund to address urgent issues in your community today.
Plan your legacy
Giving tomorrow
You can leave a charitable gift through your will or planned giving vehicle to an unrestricted, field-of-interest, or designated fund to support the causes you care about for generations to come.
Our Fund Types
Unrestricted Fund
Support NYC, Long Island, or Westchester
Unrestricted funds provide maximum flexibility to address our region’s needs—today and tomorrow. We will ensure your gift supports effective nonprofits working on the most pressing problems in New York City, Long Island, and Westchester.
Field-of-Interest Fund
Support specific causes
A field-of-interest fund allows you to support specific causes, communities, and places that you care about. You can create a fund to help in one or several areas. Our donors have created funds to benefit the borough of Queens, women and girls, the environment, historic preservation, and more. Our grantmaking staff will help connect your generosity with groups working in the areas you care about.
Designated Fund
Support specific organizations
Designated funds allow you to name the charity, or charities, you want to support. We invest the money, regularly make grants in your name, and monitor these organizations over time to ensure that your gift never becomes obsolete.
Donor-Advised Fund
High-impact giving
Having your donor-advised fund at The Trust means having access to our experienced philanthropic experts. It means invitations to events where you can meet like-minded New Yorkers and get an inside look at the region's most effective nonprofits. It also means having access to exclusive grantmaking opportunities and our easy-to-use grantmaking portal. And, of course, it’s a great way to save on taxes with minimal paperwork.
Cash
You can give gifts of cash online, by check, or U.S. currency.
Publicly traded securities
Gifts of securities offer important tax advantages and can be an excellent way to handle appreciated stock. The full fair market value is deductible as a charitable contribution without tax on the built-up capital gains.
Contributions from your IRA
Donors age 70-1/2 and older may direct contributions from an IRA directly to a public charity. The “charitable IRA rollover” provision allows you to exclude the IRA distribution from income—instead of taking it into income and claiming a charitable income tax deduction—under certain circumstances. Please be aware that under current law, the rollover provision doesn’t apply to contributions to donor-advised funds. You can, however, take full advantage of the charitable IRA rollover for contributions to our competitive grantmaking through a field-of-interest fund, our Community Needs Fund, and others.
Other retirement assets
Make charity your beneficiary. Income taxes can take a significant portion of retirement plan assets that are left to heirs. Instead, these assets can be set aside for charity. When these assets are allocated to charity, they are not subject to income tax and do not add to your heirs’ taxable inheritance. This results in the greatest benefit for both your loved ones and charitable beneficiaries.
Life insurance
You may choose to give your life insurance benefits to charity. You can claim a charitable tax deduction, based on the policy’s current value, if you make The New York Community Trust the owner and beneficiary of the policy during your lifetime. If you don’t need the deduction, you can choose to name The Trust as your beneficiary of a policy at death.
Real estate and other property
Certain property, such as jewelry, real estate, or copyrights, can be donated to The Trust under certain circumstances. Please contact us to discuss the details.
LLC or limited...
Are you interested in giving limited partnership interests, or selling a business and making a tax-smart contribution with a portion of the proceeds? We’re here to help.
Looking for a specific person at The Trust?
We’ve got experts in grantmaking and philanthropic giving across New York City, Long Island, and Westchester ready to work with you to achieve your charitable vision.
