Aaron Moncreiff

Making Charitable Resolutions Stick

As the year 2019 really gets rolling, you already may be looking at your resolutions in the rear-view mirror. If so, you aren’t alone. According to Forbes magazine, of the 40% of Americans who make resolutions every year, only 8% end the year achieving those goals. But for all the individuals out there who resolved to be more charitable, but have yet to take steps to that end, we’re here to help you keep your goals.

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Year-End Giving Deadlines Loom

If you have ever worked for or with a philanthropic organization, you are well aware that the calendar from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Eve should just say, “BUSY.” And for good reason. According to the M+R 2018 Benchmark Study, 31% of annual giving is made in December with 12% of all annual giving happening in the last three days of the year. With all that charitable giving, there are a lot of financial advisors, fundraisers and gift processors burning the midnight oil to get every penny counted before January 1.

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Take Giving Tuesday to the next level with a donor-advised fund

Giving Tuesday began in 2012 as a chance to step back from the commercial consumerism that claims so much of the focus this time of year and turn attention to philanthropic opportunities. According to GivingTuesday.org 37 million Americans participated in 2022 with gifts to charities hitting a record $3.1 billion—a 15% year-over-year increase and a 25% increase since 2020. Every indication shows that 2023 should be another record-breaking year. 

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Using Your Donor-Advised Fund for Aid in Disaster Relief

Hurricane season is upon us and it’s a terrible reminder that Mother Nature can destroy property, communities and lives in an instant. The country recently watched in horror as Hurricane Florence tore through the Eastern Seaboard. Ranked just behind Hurricane Harvey in the level of rainfall, Florence has left many families in the Carolinas, Maryland and along the Northeastern Seaboard reeling.

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Building a Charitable Legacy

An often-cited philanthropic goal among charitable-minded individuals is to develop a lasting impact that will live on after they are gone. Whether that means instilling in your children and grandchildren a tradition of giving, or developing a means of perpetual giving to continue your charitable habits after your time on Earth has passed, having the ability to make a financial difference and creating a legacy of giving can easily be accomplished by starting a Donor-Advised Fund (DAF).

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Taxed from Tax Season? We may have a tool to help.

Now that your taxes are filed or you’ve filed an extension, the thought has probably crossed your mind about how you could ease the pain of that tax bill next year. Ren has several philanthropic tools to help take some of the teeth out of the tax bite. Here, we will share with you the different gift types we can help you to establish and how they may help you cut your tax burden as well as reach your philanthropic goals.

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Unpacking the Future of Philanthropy

Recently, I attended the Alliance for Charitable Reform Summit for Leaders in Washington, D.C. and I came away with many thoughts for the near future of philanthropy. While there is still a lot to unravel from the recent passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, the shift in charitable giving is already being felt in the industry. I’ve been reading a lot of articles that have both positive and negative impacts on donors and charities and wanted to summarize my thoughts here.

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Bunch Your Charitable Giving to Maximize Tax Deductions

According to the IRS, more than 36 million people offset their 2015 tax bills by taking charitable-giving deductions. The new Tax Cut and Jobs Act passed by congress and signed into law in December increases the standard deduction that taxpayers can claim from $6,350 for single filers and $12,700 for those filing jointly to $12,000 and $24,000 respectively. Many feel that increase may lead to fewer taxpayers itemizing and a potential drop in charitable giving. But there is a way for charitable-minded individuals to continue to make gifts and get the tax breaks they’ve come to enjoy. It’s what accountants call “Bunching.”

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