Charity questions

[SecondCor521]

Hi all,

I am considering making a large donation to charity soon.

I am *not* asking for charity suggestions. I have ten already on my personal list.

I am *not* asking how to evaluate any specific charity. I know how to do that, and that is part of whether a charity makes it onto my personal list.

I am *not* asking about the tax implications or estate planning or whether I can afford it. You may assume accurately that there are no issues there.

I am *not* asking about the mechanics of making the donation. I'm not yet eligible for QCDs, don't want to involve a DAF, and don't particularly care about the tax benefits although I'll take them if I'm entitled to do so.

Things I am asking about and am interested in answers from people who have done similarly before me:

1. For a large donation, do you give to one charity, or do you spread it around? Looking at my list the top four or five that are approximately equally good in my view.

2. Do you give anonymously, and if so how do you effect your anonymity?

3. Do you do anything differently with a large donation compared to an ordinary sized donation?

4. How do you avoid getting hounded for subsequent donations?

5. Any other general advice or comments?

For the purposes of this discussion, I'm going to leave "large" undefined. It would be large from many charities' point of view, but small in terms of my overall net worth.

Thanks.

 

[audreyh1]

Hi all,

I am considering making a large donation to charity soon.

1. For a large donation, do you give to one charity, or do you spread it around? Looking at my list the top four or five that are approximately equally good in my view.

2. Do you give anonymously, and if so how do you effect your anonymity?

3. Do you do anything differently with a large donation compared to an ordinary sized donation?

4. How do you avoid getting hounded for subsequent donations?

5. Any other general advice or comments?

For the purposes of this discussion, I'm going to leave "large" undefined. It would be large from many charities' point of view, but small in terms of my overall net worth.

Thanks.

1. Gosh this is very much a personal preference and really depends on how you feel about the candidate organizations and their respective missions.

2. It’s easy to give anonymously via a DAF. It’s really not possible to give anonymously directly to an organization if you need their acknowledgment letters for your tax records.

3. We don’t do anything different.

4. Not easy to avoid.

 

[Lewis Clark]

We have given anonymously by giving the charity a bank check or money order. This keeps us off mailing lists.

We have not needed receipts for tax purposes.

 

[TheWizard]

I don't yet make "large" donations to charity, only a few thousand dollars via QCDs.
Because they are QCDs, I need an ack letter so I can't be anonymous.
I donate mostly to local charities, certainly not to any who advertise on TV. So I don't get hounded for additional gifts.

I'm increasing my total donations from year to year lately. I'm not sure what my upper limit will be...

 

[joesxm3]

1. I donate to my church and two other charities, plus random small donations.

2. I don't give anonymously to my 3 larger donations. All are via my DAF and some small donations are anonymous.

3. Large donations are monthly. Small donations are random.

4. My three charities don't hound me. Some others that I gave to once flood me with junk mail.

Although it seems that my charities notice my donations enough to give special thank you, I am not sure that it would be considered "large".

 

[TheWizard]

I have a paper grocery sack for junk mail.
Unsolicited mail of any type goes in there.
And I have a 96-gallon recycle bin on wheels for junk mail and everything else, so I'm all set for whatever happens...

 

[rk911]

99.9% of our charitable donafions are made thru our DAF. A DAF is a 501(c3) charity so any $ deposited to a DAF is itself the charitable tax deduction. When we make donations to qualified charities (other 501c(3) organizations) thru our DAF we have the option to be between 0%-100% anonymous.

 

[SecondCor521]

Thanks for the responses so far.

I wasn't originally planning on it, but I might set up a DAF just for the "anonymity washing". A money order or cashier's check could work, but I think I would prefer the donation documentation for tax purposes.

 

[TheWizard]

I'm not sure I understand what the whole Anonymous thing is about but that's okay...

 

[Sunset]

I'm not sure I understand what the whole Anonymous thing is about but that's okay...

I donated once to a certain charity. They have now for over a dozen years mailed me about 6x per year for a donation. Basically wasting $$.

I get why some folks would want to be anonymous.

I know of a fellow, he donated anonymously enough money to build a large workshop for mentally retarded adults to have a place to go to do work (sometimes simple contracted work paid for and other times more of a practice of work) and be paid (a token sum as they are on Welfare). He kept it anonymous for a couple of decades, because back then as some folks were weird about mentally retarded adults and he didn't want a hassle.
Only after the decades did he agree to have his name on a plaque thanking him for the building.

 

[SecondCor521]

I'm not sure I understand what the whole Anonymous thing is about but that's okay...

I would like the tax deduction but otherwise I don't want any credit.

 

[imjustawarrior]

We have given enough to be invited to free vacations at plush resorts. We give quite a bit. We don't give anonymously, and we don't get hounded. Mail is easy to throw away. We give through a DAF.

We are currently only giving to 2 organizations. Both are local. I have considered giving enough to buy a piece of medical equipment. I really don't know if it is better to concentrate or spread out donations.

I don't know what you consider a large donation. I may handle anything over a few hundred thousand differently. Otherwise, I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[RetiredAt55.5]

You can donate to a charity anonymously using PayPal and PayPal takes no fees and provides documentation to you for the donation. Google PayPal Giving Fund for more info.

 

[HarveyS]

Re: Q1: I would be cautious not to give so much to an organization that you would overwhelm them. If you give $100k to the local dog rescue would they be able to effectively deploy those dollars?

 

[jebmke]

We have given anonymously by giving the charity a bank check or money order. This keeps us off mailing lists.

We have not needed receipts for tax purposes.

You don't need them until the IRS asks for them. Then you generally have about 20 days to round them up. If the amounts are small, say under $5K you probably will never hear from the IRS

 

[jebmke]

I'm not sure I understand what the whole Anonymous thing is about but that's okay...

Staying off the nag lists and the whisper lists. Especially good for local charities to avoid getting those calls and requests to come to events.

I also use it to make larger donations to an organization that I advise or sit on a board. I typically give the token "expected" donation but then if I plan to help finance them in a larger way, I do it anonymously so they don't conflate my donation with my role as a board member.

 

[athena53]

I donated once to a certain charity. They have now for over a dozen years mailed me about 6x per year for a donation. Basically wasting $$.

I get why some folks would want to be anonymous.

And some sell their mailing lists.

My charitable donations, roughly, are 50% to my church, 10% to another church capital campaign last year, 10% education, the rest all over the place (support of single mothers, health, etc.) . I'd say my 3 largest benefactors are 60% of my total giving and most are local. I figure most charities don't sell mailing lists of their big donors but if you give $50 you get pestered forever.

I agree with HarveyS- don't give so much you overwhelm the charity unless maybe its for a one-off purpose such as putting a new roof on the building. Otherwise you may cause pain if/when you stop. My church pledge was 17% of total pledges last year. This year it will be a smaller %- I increased the $ amount but fortunately we've been blessed with some new members who are apparently generous. I'm planning on moving out of state this year. Not sure what I'm going to do for them in 2027.

 

[street]

Hi all,

I am considering making a large donation to charity soon.

I am *not* asking for charity suggestions. I have ten already on my personal list.

I am *not* asking how to evaluate any specific charity. I know how to do that, and that is part of whether a charity makes it onto my personal list.

I am *not* asking about the tax implications or estate planning or whether I can afford it. You may assume accurately that there are no issues there.

I am *not* asking about the mechanics of making the donation. I'm not yet eligible for QCDs, don't want to involve a DAF, and don't particularly care about the tax benefits although I'll take them if I'm entitled to do so.

Things I am asking about and am interested in answers from people who have done similarly before me:

1. For a large donation, do you give to one charity, or do you spread it around? Looking at my list the top four or five that are approximately equally good in my view.

2. Do you give anonymously, and if so how do you effect your anonymity?

3. Do you do anything differently with a large donation compared to an ordinary sized donation?

4. How do you avoid getting hounded for subsequent donations?

5. Any other general advice or comments?

For the purposes of this discussion, I'm going to leave "large" undefined. It would be large from many charities' point of view, but small in terms of my overall net worth.

Thanks.

1)Give to one. Some small ones but few
2)No
3)No
4)I have had NO problem with getting hounded
5)We give to local charities and can actually see difference it makes

 

[MarieIG]

1. Spread

2. I don't bother being anonymous but I don't "advertise".

3. Anything different - not yet, but I may consider donating appreciated stock in the future.

4. I don't worry about being hounded. I don't answer the phone if I don't know whose calling, I don't open e-mails if I don't want, and I can throw mail in the trash. Also, with electronic donations with regard to the larger charities other than my church, I don't "agree" to receive communications. I know they are there.

 

[lem1955]

I spread a large amount (to me) around unless there is a local need I am excited about.
My large amounts are not large enough to promise a match or anything else.
Hounded? I just toss requests, and don't take phone calls.
I want to give as a known donor to encourage other friends and acquaintances to give more.

 

[COcheesehead]

I am very, very concentrated in my giving. Very personal relationship with the charity. I get nothing in return. 100% goes to needs. They know me, I know them.

 

[Bruno]

Is it too late to make a QCD this year to count on reducing last years AGI? Probably a dumb question but i think you can make a Roth to count on last year amount.

 

[SecondCor521]

Is it too late to make a QCD this year to count on reducing last years AGI? Probably a dumb question but i think you can make a Roth to count on last year amount.

I'm under 70.5 so ineligible for QCDs. QCDs are also calendar year based, so it would be too late anyway.

I could make a Roth contribution this year for 2025, but I'm not sure how that's related to charity.

 

[rk911]

Thanks for the responses so far.

I wasn't originally planning on it, but I might set up a DAF just for the "anonymity washing". A money order or cashier's check could work, but I think I would prefer the donation documentation for tax purposes.

The only documentation you would need for taxes is the deposit into the DAF as that is a charitable donation and may be tax deductible depending on how you file, etc. Disbursements to charities from the DAF are not deductible. Our DAF also has earnings which are also not taxed but there are fees which, at least in our case, are not deductible.

 

[rk911]

I donated once to a certain charity. They have now for over a dozen years mailed me about 6x per year for a donation. Basically wasting $$.

I get why some folks would want to be anonymous.

I know of a fellow, he donated anonymously enough money to build a large workshop for mentally retarded adults to have a place to go to do work (sometimes simple contracted work paid for and other times more of a practice of work) and be paid (a token sum as they are on Welfare). He kept it anonymous for a couple of decades, because back then as some folks were weird about mentally retarded adults and he didn't want a hassle.
Only after the decades did he agree to have his name on a plaque thanking him for the building.

We support a number of charities during the year, some of which continuously mail us requests for more but we never hear from the vast majority. I agree that some charities sell their donor lists as we get pleas for $ from charities we have never heard from or supported. All of those get shredded.