Ways To Give:

The following is a brief summary of the key points about the most common options for giving. This information is not meant to be all-inclusive but rather to serve as a first step in helping you move to the next phase of your giving plan.

1. Make a Direct Gift to An Established Charity.
   
   Direct gifts provide immediate financial support to educational institutions, religious organizations, and many other nonprofits working to meet community needs in such areas as health care, human services, the arts, the environment, civic improvement and others.
   
   Always make sure that the organization you give to has tax-exempt status from the Internal Revenue Service so that you can claim the appropriate federal tax deduction for your gift. The tax deduction for gifts of cash to charity can be up to 50 percent of your adjusted gross income for the year. It is also possible to give gifts of property, including real estate, mutual funds, stocks and other securities to your chosen charity or charities. These gifts allow different deductions for tax purposes. Check with your tax advisor for advice.
   
   Federated funds, like the United Way and the Combined Federal Campaign participate in annual workplace giving campaigns that raise millions of dollars which are distributed to local, state and national nonprofit organizations. Check with your employer for details about workplace giving options.
   
   
   
2. Give To or Through a Community Foundation
   
   Community foundations are local charitable entities that administer a number of endowed funds for local purposes. Because community foundations are geographically focused, they often become expert in solving community or regional problems and improving the lives of people in their area through the funds they administer.
   
   Community foundations are growing in popularity among donors and nonprofits as they offer some distinct advantages and options when targeting giving for community needs. There are several ways to make a gift to a community foundation:
   
   Unrestricted Gift - The income from your gift is used where the foundation’s board deems it is most needed.
   
   Field of Interest Fund - You support charitable organizations in a specific field of your choice, such as the arts, education or the environment.
   
   Designated Fund – You designate one or more specific charitable organizations to benefit from your gift.
   
   Donor Advised Fund - You name the fund, establish a broad purpose for the fund, or designate a specific charitable organization, such as the local library, to benefit. Many individuals, families and even corporations are creating donor-advised funds. The community foundation will charge a small annual fee for administering your fund but it is generally easier and less expensive than creating and maintaining a private foundation.
   
   
   Next Steps: Consult your local community or public or financial institution about your charitable interests. The Nevada Community Foundation has been a driving force for philanthropy in southern Nevada since 1988. In partnership with its many donors, the Nevada Community Foundation channels much-needed resources to a broad and diverse range of community organizations.


3. Explore Your Planned Giving Options
   
   Planned giving makes it possible for you to give to the nonprofit of your choice while meeting your current income needs and providing for your heirs.
   
   A planned gift enables you to continue to help people in need or promote a favorite cause, either in the form of money, property, an investment or percentage of an estate. Planned gifts can be used to benefit a specific nonprofit organization, to establish a fund at a community foundation, to create a supporting organization, or to start a private foundation.
   
   There are several options in planned giving, all of which should be discussed with a professional advisor who can fully explain the impact of each choice and assist you in making the best decision.
   
   There are planned giving options for donors of all income levels.
   
   The charitable remainder trust provides you with an income during your lifetime with the remaining assets passing on to the nonprofit you designate upon your death. A charitable remainder trust allows a tax deduction the year the trust is formed.
   
   A charitable lead trust provides for a regular, fixed amount to be paid to a philanthropic fund or charities of your choosing for a specific number of years. At the end of the specified period, the remainder of the trust passes to your designated heirs.
   
   With a charitable gift annuity, a donor makes an irrevocable gift to a charity in exchange for fixed payments to the donor during his or her lifetime. The amount of the payments is determined by a contract between the charity and the donor.
   
   
   Next Steps: Speak with a financial advisor or legal advisor about your planned giving options. For more information about planned giving, visit these websites: National Committee on Planned Giving, Leave a Legacy.
   
   
4. Create a Private or Family Foundation
   
   Private foundations are generally founded by an individual, a family, or a group of individuals and organized as nonprofit corporations (giving the foundation the same tax-exempt status as a charitable organization) or charitable trusts. You can appoint yourself, other family members or friends to the foundation’s governing board. The board is charged with fiscal oversight and allocating the foundation’s funds.
   
   Private foundations can vary greatly in size and levels of involvement.
   
   Since it is a charitable organization, a private foundation is exempt from federal income tax on its income, and your gifts to it afford you certain tax advantages.
   
   With a private foundation, the funds continue to provide charitable capital as long as the foundation exists. This allows foundations to provide for the long-term needs of the organization and the issues you want to support. By making endowed gifts, whereby the principal gift generates annual revenue, the donor’s influence can continue to make an impact for generations to come.
   
   
   Next Steps: None of these organizations are a substitute for qualified legal advice but they may provide additional resources and more in-depth information.
   
   
5. Establish or Join a Giving Circle
   
   A giving circle is a group of individuals who contribute equally to a pooled fund; invest the money; and participate in decisions about how to distribute these funds to philanthropic organizations or causes.
   
   With the collective gifts of a giving circle, the members can experience the benefits of being a major donor because the grants made are usually large enough to give the members the power to designate the use of the gift.
   
   Your level of involvement in a giving circle can be very flexible. You can choose to sit on a committee, take on a leadership role, or simply serve as a general member.
   
   The pooled funds may be held at a public foundation in the form of a donor-advised fund, for example, at a local bank, or by some other nonprofit or commercial entity that will invest the funds and enable them to earn income.
   
   
   Next Steps: Visit the Forum of Regional Associations of Grant Makers for a “Giving Circle Starter Kit.”
   
   
6. 6. Develop a Business Giving Program
   
   A good giving program can help support your corporate mission while enhancing your bottom line.
   
   Whether you are the owner of your own small business or an officer of a corporation, there are many vehicles for charitable giving available to you.
   
   Many businesses establish an annual giving program to make grants, funded as part of each year’s operating budget, for the company. Owners can blend the family business with family philanthropy by channeling support through their family corporation(s). This kind of program has no endowment. Corporate staff, directed by the CEO or an advisory committee of management staff members, administers its budget.
   
   Other corporate leaders may choose to take the next step by creating a corporate foundation as an independent tax-exempt private foundation or creating a fund at a community foundation. This option provides the company with the ability to preserve its charitable giving during lean economic times and the ability to preserve the company’s name in an era of mergers and acquisitions. The foundation is usually started with a single gift that can become the endowment, which can be added to on an annual basis or when and if profits allow. The foundation’s officers are usually the company owners and key executives. At some companies, committees of employees make recommendations about projects they believe are worthy of the foundation’s support. The corporate foundation is subject to the same rules and regulations applicable to other private foundations.
   
   For some companies, the practice of simply contributing money to good causes has grown into giving programs that tie donations of time, money and gifts in kind to defined business goals and desired benefits.
   
   In addition to programs that enhance their strategic business interests, many companies often match employee gifts of cash and volunteer time to nonprofit organizations. Companies may also choose to make in-kind gifts of products to charities and/or organize workplace volunteer efforts for the good of the community.
   
   The Guidebook for Business Giving provides step by step information for companies on how to establish a meaningful business giving program.