In 2012, New York City’s 92nd Street Y and the United Nations Foundation saw the need for an international day of charitable giving to contrast the consumerism that traditionally follows the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States. The two organizations saw the rise in popularity of the “Black Friday” and “Cyber Monday” traditions and wanted to start a similar buzz around philanthropic giving in the spirit of the “giving season.” From that idea, Giving Tuesday was born. It has become a global phenomenon, a universal hashtag, and a staple on everyone’s year-end calendar. What started as a message of charity raised $10.1 million in 2012. Last year, charitable giving on Giving Tuesday topped $380 million. In 2019, the movement has achieved another milestone – it’s now an independent charity of its own and the success of Giving Tuesday seems to have no end in sight.
While Giving Tuesday is a wonderful and important reminder to stay charitably focused, especially during the holiday season, there are ways you can keep that philanthropic mindset all year long! One way to do so is by opening your own Donor-Advised Fund (DAF). With a DAF, gifts of cash, stock, complex assets, business interests and more can be donated at anytime during the year and then the assets in that fund can be granted out to any qualified charity on Giving Tuesday or any other time when a need arises.
Another advantage of making that year-end gift to a DAF is that you can recommend grants to multiple charities at once, but you don’t need multiple receipts to claim the charitable donation on your taxes. Your DAF is the qualified charity and all gifts to it are tax deductible. Also, while Giving Tuesday is a great time to get into the giving spirit, it’s important to remember that charities need your help throughout the year; not just the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. This year, Giving Tuesday is December 3, and we hope you choose to make your gift to a DAF and spread the cheer all year long!
At Ren, a DAF can be set up immediately and as soon as your fund is established, you can start recommending grants to your favorite charities. Best of all, the assets in your DAF that are not granted out are placed in an investment pool of your choosing giving increasing your capacity for charitable giving in the long run.
Contact us to find answers to any of your other charitable planning questions.
