If you wish to keep your charitable giving private, especially gifts funding sensitive or controversial issues, open a DonorsTrust account and ask that your gifts remain anonymous. Any contributions to your DonorsTrust account that have to be reported to the IRS will not become public information. Unlike with private foundations, gifts from your account will remain anonymous if you wish.

Appreciated Stock
If you own appreciated stock and want to distribute it to a number of charities and avoid incurring capital gains tax, make one transfer of stock to DonorsTrust and receive the market value for your gift. Then at your leisure, request DonorsTrust to distribute multiple gifts from the transfer.

Closely Held Stock
If you possess closely or privately held stock, DonorsTrust can help you avoid the capital gains tax while taking the best possible tax deduction. Contribute the stock to DonorsTrust and calculate your tax deduction based on the market value of the stock rather than the cost basis. At your leisure, make any number of charitable gifts from the single transfer.

Unexpected Windfall
If you need to give to charity to reduce your tax burden but don’t have time to think through all the details right now, open an account at DonorsTrust to immediately receive your full tax deduction. Then, you can disburse charitable gifts from your account at your leisure.

Do you wonder if your heirs will gift your hard-won earnings to groups with which you disagree? Open a DonorsTrust account and write a specific charitable intent statement—even listing what charities you will or won’t fund. Give your family the opportunity to preserve your intent as successor advisors to your account and rely on DonorsTrust to protect and enforce it.

Community Foundation
Maybe you give through your local community foundation but wonder if they’ll approve your grant requests when your trusted contact leaves or when your grantees fall on the wrong side of the current political trend. Set up a new account by making a grant disbursement to DonorsTrust, a public charity that serves as a philosophical community foundation. DonorsTrust will always respect grant requests that fall within the DonorsTrust mission and purpose.

Commercial Donor-Advised Fund
Many givers manage their charitable giving through a commercial fund like Vanguard or Fidelity. But commercial funds don’t share your belief in free enterprise and personal responsibility, nor do they know the liberty-oriented groups you support. In fact, some funds have denied their clients’ grant requests on account of political differences. To safeguard your giving with a fund that shares your values, make a grant disbursement to DonorsTrust (a public charity) and establish a new account with us. As a client you will receive personal attention and the protection of DonorsTrust’s mission.

Private Foundation
Private foundations have many benefits but also come with the hassles of meeting the 5% payout deadline, paying lawyers and staff to comply with regulations, and a lack of privacy. As a public charity, DonorsTrust can accept your foundation’s payout and immediately relieve you of the payout deadline. Grants are disbursed at your discretion, all IRS forms are completed for you, and total anonymity is possible.

If you are tired of writing checks, managing the IRS receipts, and keeping track of all your giving details, DonorsTrust can help. To open your account, write one check to DonorsTrust and receive one IRS receipt. Then, you may request gifts to your favorite charities to disburse from your account. DonorsTrust will cut the checks, track the receipts, and send you quarterly activity reports. We take care of the administrative details and simplify your tax preparation.
 
When you open an account with DonorsTrust, you immediately receive your full tax deduction but retain a greater degree of control over your charitable dollars. As an account holder, you may request grant disbursements with the assurance that, should a grantee organization stray from its mission, you can redirect future grants to another charity of your choice.
 

Additional questions?

Contact us to have a qualified representative answer your questions about DonorsTrust. Thank you for your interest.
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  • Peter Lipsett

    Peter Lipsett is vice president at DonorsTrust. He also leads DonorsTrust’s Novus Society, a network of donors under 40 committed to growing their philanthropic know-how. He has a dual degree in political science and theater from Davidson College and finally got a practical credential with an MBA from George Mason University.

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