Selecting
a charity that will use your money wisely and effectively isn’t easy,
particularly during this hectic time of year. Donor-advised funds are one
solution.
Sometimes you can have your cake
and eat it too. Or in the case of a donor-advised
fund, you can have your cake and eat it whenever you feel like it.
If you are unfamiliar with the
tool, read all about it in a recent Kiplinger
article titled “Donor-Advised Funds: Contribute Now, Donate
Later.” Essentially, you can
give to make a completed charitable contribution to your donor-advised fund
this year and secure the tax deduction benefit while you investigate the
charity or charities to ultimately receive the contribution even next year or
beyond.
Like all things in life, a
donor-advised fund is not a perfect solution for a few reasons – the fund makes
the decision, ultimately, and the cost of running the fund can eat into
donations much like a bureaucracy in a large charity. Nevertheless, this
charitable giving option is available and can be very powerful.
For more information and articles on
estate planning and elder law topics, please visit our website
and sign up for our free monthly e-newsletter. You can also friend
our law practice's Facebook page (R Christine Brown).
Reference: Kiplinger
(November 2013) “Donor-Advised Funds: Contribute Now, Donate
Later”