Advisors often comment that they’re surprised to discover the many ways Cobb Community Foundation (CCF) can help their clients, especially compared with national donor-advised fund (DAFs) programs affiliated with brokerage houses or financial services firms. Recently, Tammy Guelfo, CPA with HLB Gross Collins referred a client to CCF to create their own donor-advised fund. The client wanted to honor his late father by ensuring others would have access to age-appropriate books and reading programs regardless of their economic status.
Clients who create DAFs receive the tax benefit from the gift (often in a particularly high-income year or one with a taxable event), but they can take their time making decisions as to which charitable organizations to give to. This gives your clients time to meet with our staff and learn more about the local or national nonprofits which meet their charitable passions or perhaps join CCF on our quarterly nonprofit bus tour to see for themselves. If you have a client considering a DAF and would like us to extend an invitation to join our next nonprofit bus tour in August, please let us know.
Here are three more examples of the types of comments community foundations have heard over the years from attorneys, accountants, and financial advisors:
“I didn’t realize that the community foundation’s donor-advised fund offering was so much more than just an online account. My clients have loved getting to know other donors, accessing first-hand knowledge about what’s going on in the community and how their favorite charities are making a difference, and being able to involve their children in charitable events and activities.”
“I’m amazed at the variety of funds the community foundation can administer. Many of my clients have established donor-advised funds and have also augmented their charitable planning with a specialized fund such as a scholarship fund, designated fund, or field-of-interest fund. A big bonus for my retirement-age clients is that the IRS allows the community foundation to receive a Qualified Charitable Distribution from a client’s IRA and place it into one of these specialized funds.”
“My clients who sit on boards of directors of start-up charities have been so happy that grants from donor-advised funds–their own and others’–count toward the IRS’s public support test. That’s really helped new organizations in our community get off the ground.”
The team at Cobb Community Foundation is a resource and sounding board as you serve your philanthropic clients. We understand the charitable side of the equation and are happy to serve as a secondary source as you manage the primary relationship with your clients. This newsletter is provided for informational purposes only. It is not intended as legal, accounting, or financial planning advice.
