If you’re like most Americans, you are gathering up last year’s receipts and putting the final touches on your tax return. This article will share Five Charitable Strategies to consider in 2019. Now is the perfect time to analyze your gifting strategy for 2018 and what you want to accomplish by the end of 2019. Having a plan on when and if you should open your wallet to charities in the coming year is imperative. Here are five Charitable strategies to consider:
Give Bigger Gifts Less Frequently
Americans who give money to their favorites causes each year definitely should pay attention to the taxation of gifts, how it affects their bottom line, and the benefits of the higher standard deduction passed by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. It is not only prudent to consider these aspects, it is essential to keep your eye on the law. You can bet the charities and Non-governmental agencies are watching closely and trying to figure out how to capitalize on the Act. The state of Colorado already jumped on the bandwagon. They smartly allow their taxpayers to give donations to day care centers under the Colorado Child Care Contribution Tax Credit. The bill allows the taxpayer to make a monetary contribution to promote child care in the state. He or she is then allowed an income tax credit equal to 50% of the total value of the contribution that can be deducted over several years; it has been so successful that the legislature extended the credit for another five years.
Use Technology to Spread Your Passion
More and more social media influencers are using crowd funding and peer to peer requests for money. According to http://www.Statista.com, crowd funding, the process of raising funds through the pooling of smaller donations and leaner resources, raised 17 Billion dollars in 2017. The process is driven by passion and emotion with hints of the American Dream. The pen is mighty when paired with the picture worth a thousand tears. As more companies jump on the circuit, more of us each year are using peer to peer, also known as person to person money exchanges with our friends and others on our smart phones. It is easy, fast, and reliable. Use Technology to Spread Your Passion
Give Close to Your Heart
Most of us want to make a difference in the world. If the budget is tight we might put it off. If you lack the dollars, give of your time. It all adds up. Big Donors, those considered uber-rich, give 30% of all charitable gifts. We are talking the likes of Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, and Michael Bloomberg who sit in the top half of 1% of the income earners in the country. They fight for better and equal health care and exceptional higher education. While all of that is commendable, it may not be what you care about. What if you care about the Monarch Butterfly whose migration patterns are changing, or the Mustang horses that are overcrowded in parts of Arizona and New Mexico? Giving money is best given to those closest to your heart. If your grandfather fought in Viet Nam, Korea, or World War II, would you rather honor veterans, and give to Wounded Warriors or build a house with Habitat for Humanity. The point is, you will feel better about the gift if you have passion for the cause.
Use Your Social Conscious as Guide
Social investing has been around a long time yet it is the young adult who has really brought to the forefront the social consciousness in retail, pushing the process of marrying it with our charitable intentions too. A simple search on the internet brought over a quarter a million hits. Trends are heading toward companies who have a message of hope and inspiration to leave a positive footprint. On every Alp~n~Rock tag, a women’s ski clothing line, it is printed how the creator, Susanne Reich donates 10% of all her profits to Room to Read, a girls’ elementary through high school scholarship program in developing countries. She believes in giving the girls a lifelong gift of education. The moral of the story is to buy products from companies who support your causes.
Ask For Transparency
Before you give, ask for details. Who is going to get the money and how much goes to administrative costs. We said to give from the heart, yet that does not mean you don’t do your research and ask the right questions. Know your charity. It is critical that most, if not all, of every dollar donated goes to its intended recipient, keeping costs to run the place down or by volunteers. The other day, an article stated how some big charities were seeing a decline in donations. Digging deeper, it could be because the one CEO in the clothing donation industry makes over $700,000 dollars a year when a competing CEO makes $13,000. Why would you want to fund a charity that pays their leader more than America pays ours? Who are they trying to serve? If a charity is hesitant to answer you, move on to the next one. They all need our money and our time.
Influence the Cause 
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