Fred Barley was a driven, intelligent 19-year-old. He was also homeless. When the police found him living in a tent on the Gordon College campus in Georgia, he had just biked six hours in 100-degree weather to attend his second year of college. He was two weeks early, hoping to get a job before the school year began.
Touched by his determination, the officers put him up in a motel room, and word quickly spread throughout the community. A local pizzeria gave him a job, the motel owner allowed him to stay until school started, and a GoFundMe page raised over $180,000 to help.
When you think creatively about giving, big things can happen. You can donate time, energy, food, clothing, and of course, money. But even cash gifts can be something other than what’s in your pocket. Have you ever considered gifts of appreciated stock?
Here are three tax-smart ways to give them:
- Don’t cash out. Many people think cash is the best way to give, but donating appreciated stocks to an organization instead of liquidating them eliminates capital gains for you and for the nonprofit when they’re ready to sell.
- Bunch it. You can maximize tax benefits by “bunching” charitable gifts. Since the standard deduction has increased, you may find your itemized deductions fall below the standard amount. You can bunch two consecutive years of charitable contributions into one year – itemize on the first one and take a standard deduction on the second.
- Inspire generational giving. Appreciated stocks are easily passed on within a family, so they’re a great tool for instilling a heritage of generosity for generations to come. Choose a charitable organization, like Hospice of Michigan, to support together and empower your children to continue a family legacy of giving.
Your impact doesn’t have to be limited. This year, you can exercise creative giving that lasts. To learn more about tax-smart giving, contact Stephanie Le at 248-346-4253 or sle@hom.org.