Featured Articles
PG Calc publishes monthly articles on the latest topics in planned giving.
Tax Implications of the Next President
-PG Calc speculates and offers commentary about impending changes to Federal tax policy and the possible impacts on charitable giving. However, written on the eve of America’s transition to the Biden/Harris administration and the beginning of the 117th Congress, there’s a good chance that parts of it will pass into the category of "things we know for sure that just ain't so."
COVID-Era Success Stories in Planned Giving
-The global pandemic created by the spread of COVID-19 has impacted millions of lives, disrupted the operations of charities and organizations, and upended planned giving fundraising as we know it. Yet from this global crisis, we have witnessed several remarkable planned giving success stories from our clients. Following are four of these successes that we hope will prove educational and inspirational.
The NSGPS from CGP has Something for Everyone
-Unveiled at the CGP 2020 Conference this month, The National Standards for Gift Planning Success ("NSGPS" or "Standards") are designed to help you engineer a successful planned giving program. Much more than a just simple list of best practices, the NSGPS is a comprehensive toolkit to help identify and overcome challenges that may be hindering your gift planning efforts. The Standards are not prescriptive and are scalable to the size and maturity of your program, allowing you to adapt and address current needs while building on your strengths.
Taking a Closer Look at QCDs
-Qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), also known as charitable IRA rollovers, are particularly appealing to donors because they provide a tax benefit whether or not the donor itemizes deductions. While on the surface they seem simple – request a payment go directly from the plan administrator to a qualifying charity – there are nuances to these types of gifts of which charities should be aware. Let’s take a closer look at some of those subtleties as they relate to QCD requirements.
Projecting the Value of your Bequest Pipeline
-Planned giving departments need to demonstrate accountability for results in terms of gift revenue. Our challenge, of course, is that we generally don’t know how much planned gift revenue is coming or when it will come in, making it very difficult to accurately measure the results of current efforts. Let’s look at how using a combination of historical realized planned gifts and current calculations can generate a reasonable picture of the value of your planned gift pipeline.
10 IRS Rules You Need to Know to Help Your Donors Make Great Gifts
-Life is full of rules, and planned giving is certainly no exception. When we talk about IRS rules and planned giving, we mean not only specific sections of the federal tax code, but also IRS rulings, conditions, limitations, and the like. In putting together our webinar for August 27, which will highlight 10 rules that gift planners should know, we thought it might be helpful to provide a brief preview in this format.
Taking Advantage of the 100% Limit on Deductions for Gifts of Cash in 2020
-The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, better known as the CARES Act, became law in late March. The Act includes several provisions of interest to gift planners. Arguably the most significant of these is the ability to waive the usual 60%-of-adjusted-gross-income limit on deductions for gifts of cash made to public charities in 2020. This change creates several gift opportunities that will appeal to some donors.
Thinking Beyond the Pandemic - Peaks, Valleys, and Life in Between
-At this point, we find ourselves in seemingly unprecedented times. The COVID-19 pandemic is sweeping the globe, infecting millions of people, and leaving hundreds of thousands of fatalities in its wake. The worst is likely over in China, and life is starting to return to some new kind of normal. In Europe, a few countries have reached the so-called apex, but other countries are at varying stages along the spectrum of the crisis. In the U.S., the picture changes greatly from state to state. By most accounts, New York – the first epicenter – has seen its peak of the crisis and is now on the downside, but the majority of states are still facing a significant ramping up in the coming days and weeks. The human toll is beyond anyone’s worst imagination, and it will certainly get worse before it gets better. This will define our country and modern-day societies for generations to come. We attempt to offer some perspective in a blog post entitled Peaks, Valleys, and Life In Between.
Planned Giving Marketing and the Novel Coronavirus
-The novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, is spreading like wildfire around the globe, unsettling the stock market and causing operational disruptions to industries of every description. High schools and colleges are sending students home for the remainder of the term. Social distancing and self-quarantine are being applied by health officials. Millions of Americans are living in uncertainty and fear of what will come next.
So… Is now a good time to send that next direct mail postcard on CGAs or QCDs? Yes!
Gifts of Appreciated Securities in Today's Economy
-We noted 2019’s phenomenal stock market performance in the February 2020 edition of PG Calc’s eRate newsletter. The S&P 500 Price index returned 33.07% in 2019 if you include dividend reinvestment. Stock in Axsome Therapeutics, the maker of the common anti-depressant Wellbutrin, gained an astounding 3,578%!