Donor-Advised Funds

A donor-advised fund allows you to give back to a cause that’s close to your heart. It’s an opportunity to put your charitable dollars to work, while also giving you the flexibility to tailor your philanthropy giving in easy, cost-effective ways.

You can designate funds immediately by making an unrestricted annual gift or recommend recurring payments to a specific area of interest. Every single gift can make an immediate impact in the lives of the neighbors in need we serve daily. Recommend a gift to ECCO now through your donor-advised fund today!

Your charitable gifts, whether time or treasure, provide comfort, ease pain, and give hope. When you give, you’re investing directly into the East Cooper communities and the neighbors who live here.

ECCO relies on the generosity and commitment of the community through monetary support, services provided in-kind, product donations, and the time of others. ECCO takes a fiscally responsible approach to program implementation by maximizing volunteer resources and keeping costs as low as possible. For every single dollar that is donated to ECCO, 89% goes directly toward program costs to serve the community.

CARES Act
The CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act has provisions that might help in your philanthropic decisions this year. This new federal law allows taxpayers to take a charitable deduction of up to $300, even if you do not itemize. If you itemize deductions, this new federal law allows for cash contributions to charities like ECCO to be deducted all the way up to 100% of your adjusted gross income for this 2020 calendar year.

IRA Charitable Rollovers
If you are 70 1/2 or older, avoid taxes on donations of up to $100,000 from your IRA. There is a tax provision that allows an individual to transfer retirement assets to charity. The money given to the charity counts toward the donor’s required minimum distribution but doesn’t increase the donor’s adjusted gross income or generate a tax bill. Keeping the donation out of the donor’s adjusted gross income (AGI) is important because doing so:

    1. Helps the donor qualify for other tax breaks,
    2. Reduces taxes on the donor’s Social Security benefits,
    3. Helps the donor avoid a high-income surcharge for Medicare Parts B & D premiums.

Gifts of Stock
Year-end giving may be an excellent time for you to consider a gift of stock. Giving long-term appreciated stock offers you two-fold tax savings.

    1. You avoid paying any capital gains tax on the increase in the value of your stock.
    2. You receive a tax deduction for the full fair market value of the stock.

For income tax purposes, the value of such gifts may be deducted up to 30% of adjusted gross income, with an additional five-year carry forward.

Example: If you purchased stock many years ago for $1,000 and it is now worth $10,000, an outright gift of that stock to us would result in a charitable deduction of $10,000. In addition, you permanently avoid paying capital gains tax on the $9,000 in appreciation.

ECCO’s Stock Transfer Instructions:

  • Contact ECCO’s broker, Richard Giles at Truist Investment Services by phone at 843-722-7818, or by email at richard.giles@truist.com
  • Provide this information to initiate the transfer
      • East Cooper Community Outreach
      • DTC #0226
      • ECCO Account # WA7-075324
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What is a donor-advised fund?

A donor-advised fund is an investment account that is used for charitable giving. It is composed of donations made by individuals and administered by a third party. The third party is called the sponsoring organization. It offers immediate tax relief and allows you to support your favorite charities immediately or over time.

How does a donor-advised fund work?

A donor makes an irrevocable gift to a donor-advised fund and receives a tax deduction for the year the gift is made. Once the contribution is made, the sponsoring organization has legal control over the funds and the donor can make grant recommendations to the charity of their choice.

 

Are there any rules to owning a donor-advised fund?

The IRS has specific guidelines around the kinds of organizations that are eligible to receive grants as well as the purposes these grants can serve. For example, grants can only be made to qualified charities and cannot be made to a person, or the donor cannot receive more than an incidental benefit, so it cannot be used for the admission price for an event of the gala.

What’s the difference between a donor-advised fund and a direct donation?

The donor receives tax documentation from the sponsoring organization of the donation, while a direct donor receives tax documentation from the charity.

What are the benefits of a donor-advised fund?
  • Simple to establish
  • Flexible funding options
  • Easily Accessible
  • Tax advantage
  • Typically requires no minimum distribution
  • Anonymous granting
  • Investment options
Is there a tax deduction for donor-advised funds?

Yes, the donor receives tax documentation from the sponsoring organization of the fund.

What is the best way to contact ECCO?

Please reach out to Don Squires, director of development, at dsquires@eccocharleston.org for further advice on how to make a charitable gift to ECCO. Thank you for appreciating the importance of our work and the critical role that philanthropy plays in making it possible.