Smartdonor Charitable Giving Services

Most donors are unfamiliar with many of the smart gift planning strategies available today that can help them increase their current income and reduce their taxes while also building a family legacy of support for their favorite charity. Inside these pages you will find information about ways you can make a gift to your favorite charity and enjoy valuable benefits such as lifetime income and tax savings. If you have questions regarding a specific plan, please contact us. We look forward to helping you achieve your goals.

Ways to Give

Gifts of Appreciated Stock

If you have appreciated stock, you can gift some or all of the stock shares to avoid owing capital gains tax.

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Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCD)

Anyone age 70 ½ or older can gift a QCD up to $105,000 each year from their IRA.

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Bequests

A gift may be bequeathed via a Will, Trust, or by Beneficiary Designation on an account.

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Charitable Remainder Trust

Charitable Remainder Trusts provide donors with a stream of income and a substantial tax deduction, while also leaving an impactful gift to a nonprofit.

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Gifts of Appreciated Stock

If you have appreciated stock, you can gift some or all of the stock shares to avoid owing capital gains tax. You will also receive a charitable tax deduction for your gift.

To send a gift of stock to to a charity, follow these simple steps:

Identify which stock(s) you wish to gift, and how many shares.
Obtain the charity's DTC number and brokerage account number and provide them to your broker or account custodian.
Check with the charity or call John Graham and Associates at (309) 699-6608 to ensure your gift was successfully received and to gather any relevant confirmations for tax filing.

Jim & Sharon's Story

As is the case with many families, there are times each year when Jim and Sharon focus their attention on gift giving. For years, they have created a gift list that includes family members, friends and loved ones. Last year Jim and Sharon made an addition to their list and began including their favorite charity in their giving plan.

Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCD)

Anyone age 70 ½ or older can gift a QCD up to $105,000 each year from their IRA. A QCD can be made even if a Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) is not required. A QCD must be made from an IRA, not a qualified retirement plan like a 401(k), 403(b), or 457 Plan. If you have a 401(k) or similar plan, John Graham and Associates can help you roll it into an IRA to allow future gifting. Whereas a withdrawal from an IRA counts as taxable income to the individual, a QCD provides a tax-free gift to the charity of your choice and can also be used to satisfy annual RMD requirements.

To direct some or all of a Qualified Charitable Distribution to a charity, follow these simple steps:

Determine the dollar amount you want to gift
Provide the charity name and address
Gather the corresponding tax document from your broker or IRA account custodian

Ray's Story

Ray was an employee of a nonprofit for many years and each year attended their end of year gala fundraiser. He typically wrote a check to support this nonprofit each December. After Ray turned 73, he was required to take a Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) from his IRA each year.

Bequests

A gift may be bequeathed via a Will, Trust, or by Beneficiary Designation on an account. For example, you may list a charity as 5% beneficiary on your IRA or Life Insurance policy. Alternatively, you may list the charity in your Will to receive 10% of your estate, or to receive a gift of a specified dollar amount. Most charities appreciate being notified by the donor when being listed to receive a future bequest.

To leave a bequest to a charity, consider using the sample bequest language below in your Will or Trust. Work with an attorney and contact your charity of choice for more complex scenarios.

Bequest of a Specific Dollar Amount
“I hereby give, devise and bequeath [$Dollars] to [charity name], a non-profit organization located at [charity address], Federal Tax ID: [charity TIN], for [charity name]’s general use and purposes.”
Bequest of Percentage of an Estate
“I hereby give, devise and bequeath [Percentage of Your Estate] to [charity name], a non-profit organization located at [charity address], Federal Tax ID: [charity TIN], for [charity name]’s general use and purposes.”

To list a charity as a beneficiary on an IRA, employer sponsored retirement plan, investment account, or life insurance policy, provide:

The percentage of the account the charity will be entitled to receive upon your passing.
The organization name
The organization's Tax ID

Nancy & Dave's Story

Nancy and Dave were dedicated volunteers. Over the years, they had seen many individuals helped by the good work of their favorite charity. They wanted to create a legacy to provide future resources to continue its mission.

Charitable Remainder Trust

Charitable Remainder Trusts provide donors with a stream of income and a substantial tax deduction, while also leaving an impactful gift to a nonprofit. Donors commonly use Charitable Remainder Trusts when they are seeking ongoing income, but are facing a potentially large tax burden for the liquidation of existing assets in order to produce that income.

For example, someone owning highly appreciated Caterpillar Stock, appreciated farm ground, unused farming machinery, and a rental property would face a large tax bill should they liquidate all these assets and reposition for income. However, a Charitable Remainder Trust allows them to gift these assets into the Trust prior to liquidation, and then take both a tax deduction for their gift and ongoing income off of the invested Trust assets. Income can be taken as a fixed dollar amount or fixed percentage of account value, and will likely fall within a lower tax bracket than would have resulted from a traditional large liquidation of assets outside of a charitable remainder trust. Upon termination of the Trust, the remaining balance (or Remainder) passes to the charity.

Contact John Graham and Associates at (309) 699-6608 to discuss if a Charitable Remainder Trust is right for you.

Craig's Story

Craig, a farmer, was ready to retire. He estimated his grain would be worth $400,000 upon sale this year. He also planned to liquidate his farming machinery and a portion of his farm ground the following year since his kids had moved out of state and did not intend to carry on the family farm.

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