Helping you help others
As a trusted partner, you are uniquely equipped to help your clients establish and fulfill their philanthropic goals.
The Community Foundation collaborates with you and your clients, providing expertise to help your clients make a positive, powerful difference across the Capital Region.
We are here to help you along the way. The Community Foundation works directly with you and your clients to create an impactful, flexible and effective philanthropic strategy.
Talking to your clients about giving
The Community Foundation is here to help you support your clients with:
- Year-end tax planning
- Estate planning
- Private charitable foundation alternatives
- Using philanthropy to support a specific community need
- Establishing a scholarship
- Benefits of gifting highly appreciated stock, closely held stock or business interests
- Qualified charitable distributions from a retirement account
Call 518.446.9638 or complete the contact form
Assets and Tax Benefits
The Community Foundation works with professional advisors like you to help donors develop sophisticated, effective giving strategies.
As a registered 501(c)(3), your clients receive the most valuable tax benefits available under the law for their charitable contributions.
The Community Foundation is flexible in our ability to accept a wide variety of appropriate assets as charitable contributions.
Gifts of cash are deductible up to 60% of the donor’s adjusted gross income (with a five-year carry forward), while gifts of cash to a private foundation are deductible only up to 30% of the donor’s adjusted gross income (with a five-year carry forward).
Gifts of private assets (e.g., real estate, private company stock) are deductible at their fair market value of up to 30% of the donor’s adjusted gross income (with a five-year carry forward). In comparison, gifts of private assets to a private foundation are deductible only at the contributor’s tax basis of up to 20% of the donor’s adjusted gross income (with a five-year carry forward).
Gifts of publicly traded securities are generally deductible at 100% of the fair market value, including capital gain of up to 30% of the donor’s adjusted gross income (with a five-year carry forward). Conversely, gifts of publicly traded securities to a private foundation are only deductible up to 20% of the donor’s adjusted gross income (with a five-year carry forward).
Gifts received through a donor’s estate are generally 100% deductible for estate tax purposes, with no limitation.
Making a charitable gift of tangible personal property through the Community Foundation can help put one of your assets to work for good. Gifts of tangible personal property, such as art, antiques and collectibles may be donated to the Community Foundation, where they will be evaluated before acceptance. As the donor, you are responsible for securing an independent appraisal of donated item(s) if the value of the gift is more than $5,000.
Legacy Giving
The Community Foundation supports donors in creating planned gifts, helping to leave a charitable legacy for both the family and community. These planned charitable gift vehicles can be used throughout your client’s lifetime and beyond:
Your client can make a bequest by naming The Community Foundation for the Greater Capital Region, Inc. (legal name) as a charitable beneficiary in a new or revised will, or by adding a codicil to an existing will or living trust. The bequest can come in the form of a stated dollar amount, specific property, percentage of the total estate or a portion of or the entire residue of the estate.
A charitable lead trust allows your client to provide income to their fund, designated nonprofits or the needs of our region for a specified number of years. Then, the remainder is returned to them or their named beneficiary. This means your client may be able to transfer assets to others without incurring estate, gift or income taxes.
A charitable remainder trust (CRT) allows your client to establish a trust for the ultimate benefit of their fund at the Foundation, for specific nonprofits or left to the discretion of the Foundation’s Grants Committee. It’s also an opportunity for donors to retain a lifetime income generated by the contributed assets, receive a current income tax deduction and defer the capital gains recognized on the sale of the contributed asset. A CRT may help your client eliminate capital gains taxes altogether and reduce or eliminate gift and estate taxes. This vehicle can improve lifetime cash flow, and when coupled with an asset replacement trust, can provide for their heirs.
If your client owns valuable property and would like to continue using it throughout their lifetime, they can arrange to donate it to the Community Foundation at the end of their life. As a result, your client may receive an income tax deduction now, and an estate tax deduction in the future.
The gift of life insurance can provide valuable income and estate tax savings. As a donor, your client can give a life insurance policy that is no longer needed or take out a new policy. For maximum benefit, name the Community Foundation as the owner and beneficiary of the policy. This can benefit their fund’s designated nonprofits or the needs of the Greater Capital Region.
Retirement plan accounts and IRAs are often subject to layers of taxation, including both estate and income tax. Making a charitable gift of those funds at death, however, can provide a charity or a donor’s fund with the full 100 cents on the dollar.