Things to Consider for Your Year-End Giving | 2021

Cryptocurrency

The Lehigh Valley Community Foundation now accepts cryptocurrency donations!  Through our digital wallet, you can securely transfer cryptocurrency to a charitable fund at the Lehigh Valley Community Foundation.

Getting Serious About Planned Giving

Now is a great time to assess your estate planning as uncertainty around income tax reform extends to the estate tax landscape. Charitable gifts can be used to help manage taxes, shift assets, and transfer wealth— while making a significant contribution to charitable organizations. The Lehigh Valley Community Foundation can be a partner in planning your philanthropic legacy. 

“Bunching” your Philanthropic Gifts

A Donor-Advised Fund (DAF) is an account or fund that a donor creates at a sponsoring organization that is itself a qualified charity.  The Lehigh Valley Community Foundation offers Donor-Advised Funds with a minimum establishing gift of just $5,000.  Donors who have an unusually high income or gains this year can bunch multiple future gifts into a single year to increase the tax benefit of the charitable contributions. Learn more about the LVCF DAF Advantage

For example, open a Donor-Advised fund for $25,000, receive the tax benefit in this tax year for the full amount, and then plan your giving for the next 3-5 years.  Donors can grant the dollars in their fund to nonprofit organizations at the time that they choose in order to maintain a similar level of giving and timing as in previous years.

Giving Appreciated Stock

Giving stock remains one of the easiest ways to give.  If you have held appreciated stock for more than a year, you can take a charitable tax deduction for the fair market value of the stock, and neither you nor the community foundation will pay capital gains taxes upon the sale.  We can facilitate the conversion of your gifts of stock into charitable dollars, and help distribute it to multiple nonprofit organizations on your behalf.

Giving from Your IRA

While the consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 extended certain tax breaks, it did not extend the waiver of required minimum distributions (RMDs) from retirement accounts.  That means, unlike last year, RMDs must be made in 2021.  For donors taking the standard deduction, a qualified charitable distribution (QCD) is an attractive option.  Individuals over age 70 ½ can donate up to $100,000 from their IRA.  This satisfies the RMD requirement. Not all fund types can accept this type of gift, so contact us for information. 

Give Unrestricted

Unrestricted gifts and grants to nonprofit organizations allow the organization to decide where the need is greatest.  Nonprofits are experts at serving their own mission. General operating support allows for flexibility and capacity building initiatives that strengthen the organization from the inside out.  The Lehigh Valley Community Foundation supports nonprofits with unrestricted grants and also, as a nonprofit, accepts unrestricted gifts to support our own community leadership initiatives and operations. Make an unrestricted gift to LVCF.