Growing Your Fund
Akron Community Foundation can accept a variety of assets to grow your fund, and the best donation isn’t always cash.
Giving now: more options than you think
A surprise to many people, cash is not always the best gift. Gifts of appreciated stock, for example, may give you both a larger dollar-for-dollar charitable deduction and an exemption from capital gains taxes on the appreciation.
Akron Community Foundation accepts the following forms of charitable gifts:
Cash
Cash gifts may be deducted for income tax purposes up to 50 percent of adjusted gross income. Contributions over that limit can be carried forward for up to five subsequent years.
Publicly traded securities
You receive a double benefit if the stock has appreciated: an immediate charitable deduction for the fair market value of the securities donated and exemption from any capital gains tax on the appreciation. The fair market value of contributed securities can be deducted up to 30 percent of the donor's adjusted gross income.
In addition, if the amount is larger than the donor can use in one year, the surplus can be carried as a charitable deduction over the next five years. See how we make transferring stock easy.
Charitable IRA Rollover extended through 2013
When giving charitably, look at your highly taxed assets first. For many, that could mean your IRA, especially if you’re forced to take payouts you don’t need. Here’s a great way to grow your charitable fund at Akron Community Foundation.
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Mutual fund shares
Like gifts of publicly traded securities, gifts of mutual fund shares are deductible up to the full fair market value. Some mutual fund companies have special procedures for gifts of mutual funds. The effective date of the gift and possibly the year for which the deduction is available is determined by the date the transfer of mutual funds is completed.
Closely held stock
The contributed value per share must be discounted from the value per share for a controlling interest, as determined by a qualified independent appraisal. There can be no agreement restricting or requiring the resale of the stock by the charitable recipient. If the company offers to redeem the shares, however, the charity can take the proceeds or reinvest them for a better return. The company does not reissue the shares; all shares outstanding increase in value.
An alternative outcome to redemption by the corporation is the voluntary purchase of shares from the charity by younger family members or key non-family employees.
Life insurance
Many people find that the protection offered by life insurance policies is no longer needed later in life. A life insurance policy can become an ideal tool for charitable giving.
A few steps need to be taken to donate a life insurance policy. You start by irrevocably assigning your insurance policy to the community foundation and naming it as the sole beneficiary. You can make annual tax-deductible contributions to cover the policy's annual premium.
Or, if the policy is paid up, you will receive an immediate tax deduction in an amount equal to the policy's cash surrender value.
Real estate
Gifts of real estate can include a house, apartment building, farm, vacation home, commercial buildings, and income-producing or non-income producing land.
A gift of real estate typically requires certain procedural steps prior to acceptance, including a site visit to the property, a qualified appraisal, a preliminary title report and an environmental assessment. Akron Community Foundation has a separate LLC set up specifically to handle these types of gifts for you.
Other property
Some people may wish to leverage their automobile, antiques or jewelry to benefit a charitable cause. Akron Community Foundation can accept these gifts, too. Any item valued at $5,000 or more is subject to IRS guidelines and must be appraised by an impartial party.
Our formal gift acceptance policy is also available.
Giving later: tools for planned giving
Naturally, you hope your assets last comfortably throughout your lifetime, with enough left over for loved ones. In fact, we expect you’re reading this section because you want to leave a charitable legacy, too.
You’ve come to the right place!
With planned giving, you have exciting options to:
- Make tax-deductible planned gifts that earn annual income
- Make planned gifts that protect certain valuable assets
- Ensure the best asset (tax-wise) goes to friends and family members
- Guarantee your charitable wishes are carried out.
When you visit the community foundation’s planned giving section, you will find: