Fourth quarter is off to a rough start, but there’s still a lot to love about philanthropic opportunities
What a wild start to the fourth quarter! Between watching the stock market linger in bear territory and seeing the news of Hurricane Ian’s devastation, there’s an awful lot to think about related to philanthropy and charitable giving.
As I wrote this month’s cut-and-paste articles for our subscribers, I thought about how community foundations can balance the need to put often dire community needs out in front while still remaining enthusiastic about donors’ ability to make a difference through savvy tax planning and smart use of the various tools and resources community foundations have to offer.
If you are a subscriber to Embolden’s donor, nonprofit, and/or professional advisor newsletter content packages, here are a few ideas to consider as you are using the material that landed in your inbox today.
Consider using the material in two separate sets of social posts this month.
In one post, you can focus on the fact that the fourth quarter is upon us and donors and their advisors (and nonprofits and their donors) should be thinking about year-end tax planning.
In particular, I suggest encouraging your stakeholders to think broadly about appreciated assets they could give to funds at the community foundation and other public charities. I keep saying this, and I will keep saying it! Not all stock is down. There is still plenty of highly-appreciate stock out there.
To that end, you might share an article with exactly that message in your caption. For example: “Not all stock is down. Consider giving highly-appreciated securities to a fund at the community foundation to maximize tax benefits and help the people in our community who need it most.”
Your second post can focus on the needs of the community and the power of the community foundation to deliver unparalleled options for making a difference now and for years to come.
You might mention Qualified Charitable Distributions and the opportunity for 70 1/2+ donors to direct $100,000 from an IRA to a field-of-interest fund or unrestricted fund at the community foundation that can be put to use to support immediate needs, including helping other communities recover from the effects of Hurricane Ian.
As always, I welcome the opportunity to brainstorm about your engagement strategies and content needs. Our clients always have the best ideas, and every single article and piece of material we produce is because one or more community foundations told us the content would help them.
All the best for October!
P.S. The photo has nothing to do with the topic of this post. I just couldn’t resist sharing. Our girls do love their dogs!