Donor-advised funds (DAF) are one of the most popular philanthropic tools offered by Atlanta Jewish Foundation. But do you really know what a DAF is, or what it can do for you?
A DAF is a charitable checking account that allows you to donate to charity without needing to decide on recipients right away. This not only allows you to receive a tax benefit the same year you make the donation, but the funds in your DAF grow tax-free until you complete your grants to qualified charities.
Evi Reznick opened a DAF with us in 2013 and raves about it. “I love, love, love Atlanta Jewish Foundation and my donor-advised fund. It puts me in charge of all my charitable giving and makes record-keeping simple. A lot of my giving is local and Jewish. For small nonprofit agencies, it costs money to process even a small gift. With my DAF, the funds go directly to the organization, and I do not have to mail anything. Cindy Weik takes care of that for me.”
Joey Hurd is equally enthusiastic about his donor-advised fund. “As the Executive Director of the Radow Family Foundation, I am constantly evaluating our philanthropy and that means keeping track of all our donations. The DAF is our charitable checkbook and an amazing tool for this. It is so efficient to login through the donor portal and make a grant to a charity. Even if I am away from my office, I can always rely on the team at the Foundation to help facilitate a grant by making a call or sending an email. When tax season arrives, there is one statement with all our giving that can be shared with our entire team at the family foundation. We use our DAF for the charitable gifts that we support year after year and it’s great for those unexpected ones, where a friend is being honored, or a fellow community member needs a helping hand. Bottom line, it just makes sense to work with Atlanta Jewish Foundation.”
With end-of-year tax filing in mind, another benefit is that DAFs can be a powerful solution for turning complex assets into charitable capital. Atlanta Jewish Foundation has tremendous depth of experience handling a variety of non-cash gifts such as real estate or appreciated stocks. Working with you, or your financial advisor, we are in a great position to help you maximize the tax benefits a DAF can provide.
A DAF can be a financial planning tool. A DAF can be a tax saving strategy. A DAF is a way to organize and optimize your charitable giving. And a DAF is also a way to model generosity to your children. Contact Cindy Weik today and open your DAF before December 31, 2021.