7 Tips to Maximize Your Giving Impact

December 23, 2021

As you consider your end-of-year giving, here are 7 tips to maximize your impact—no matter where you give: 

 

  1. Donate appreciated stock or mutual funds. By donating stock instead of selling it, you may be able to deduct the full market value and avoid capital gains tax. 
  2. Match your gift. Many organizations match employee donations and even volunteer hours. Check here to see if your company offers these programs.
  3. Try “bunching.” With this strategy, you would combine two or three years’ worth of gifts into one year, so that itemizing becomes advantageous. By making a substantial gift to a donor advised fund, you can deduct the full gift now and then direct the money over time to your favorite charity. If you have a DAF with Fidelity, Charles Schwab or BNY Mellon, you can make a gift from your DAF here. 
  4. Donate crypto. Donating cryptocurrency is a non-taxable event, meaning you do not owe capital gains tax on the appreciated amount and can deduct it on your taxes. 
  5. If you are 70 1/2 or older, you can make a gift to Miriam’s Kitchen directly from your IRA—satisfying part or all of your required minimum distribution (RMD) for the year. And you won’t owe income taxes on the withdrawal. 
  6. Name Miriam’s Kitchen as the ultimate beneficiary of your retirement plan, donor advised fund, insurance policy, bank account, IRA, etc. 
  7. Make a gift to Miriam’s Kitchen in your will or trust. Below is sample language to get you started:
    • To leave a specified amount or percentage of your will: “I give to Miriam’s Kitchen whose administrative offices are located at 2401 Virginia Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20037, a District of Columbia non-profit corporation (tax ID 52-1331552), the sum of $____{or ___% of my estate; or property described herein}, for its general purposes.”
    • To make a residuary bequest to Miriam’s Kitchen: “All the rest, residue, and remainder of my estate, both real and personal, I give to Miriam’s Kitchen, whose administrative offices are located at 2401 Virginia Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20037, a District of Columbia non-profit corporation (tax ID 52-1331552), for its general purposes.”

**Be sure to consult your tax and financial advisors when planning your gift!

 

If you have already donated to Miriam’s Kitchen this holiday season, thank you!

 

If you have not yet donated, please consider a gift today for Miriam’s Kitchen. It will be matched dollar-for-dollar (up to $150,000) by The J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation.

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