Who gives early in the year?

While the last quarter of the calendar year is a time of high volume giving, the first quarter is a prime time to encourage new gifts and gift plans to your community. Why? Studies show that January and February are the months when more estate plans are made than other months of the year. This is the perfect time to encourage people to include your community in their will, trust, or as a beneficiary to an asset such as an IRA or other retirement savings. If you donors need help evaluating what assets are best to gift to charity versus what assets are best to leave to loved ones, contact Anne Calder or Joscelyn Rowe for assistance.

IRA charitable distributions are very popular for donors age 70 ½ because it reduces their taxable income. Don’t wait around for the last quarter to encourage people to allocate their annual distribution for charity—get out in front of other charitable solicitations and encourage your residents to send their distributions now to your community foundation’s family of funds.

Melanie Jones