Donor Advised Fund - Learn more
Donor Advised Fund Definition
A Donor Advised Fund allows you to make an irrevocable contribution and then recommend grants to qualified nonprofit organizations on your own timetable, often with the ability to remain anonymous.
Benefits
Details
A donor advised fund is a program of the Vedic Community Foundation that allows donors to make contributions to various Temples and programs, become eligible to take an immediate tax deduction, and then make recommendations for distributing the funds to those qualified nonprofit organizations on their own timetable.
A donor advised fund offers benefits such as flexibility in grant recommending, including the ability to remain anonymous. Since the donor is eligible to take the maximum tax deduction available once they have made their irrevocable contribution, the VCF owns and controls the assets, allowing the donor to have only advisory over the distribution of charitable grants. This is why the grants are recommended by donors, not made by them.
The VCF also will generally perform due diligence to verify that each organization to which a grant is recommended is an IRS-qualified public charity, among other restrictions as specified by the policies of each sponsoring organization with a donor advised fund program.
As far as tax considerations, donors may be eligible to take a tax deduction of up to 30% of their adjusted gross income for contributions of securities, and up to 50% for cash contributions.
The three G's
The Vedic Community Foundation Fund Giving Account is a donor-advised fund, a type of charitable giving program that allows you to combine the most favorable tax benefits with the flexibility to support your favorite charities at any time.
Give: Make a contribution to the Gift Fund and set up a Giving Account. Then be eligible to take an immediate tax deduction.
Grow: Advise how your contributions are invested, which gives the assets the potential to grow.
Grant: Recommend grants to the charities you support, with the option of being recognized or remaining anonymous.
Tax Benefits & Contributions
Take advantage of favorable tax treatmentYou may be eligible to take an immediate tax deduction for each contribution. Because the Gift Fund is an independent public charity, contributions may qualify for larger tax deductions than those resulting from other alternative charitable solutions.
Donate appreciated securities to get the most tax savingsBy contributing securities with unrealized long-term capital gains directly to the Gift Fund, instead of selling the assets and then donating the proceeds, you can give more to charity and enjoy significant tax savings. View hypothetical example
Here's how it works: You contribute the actual securities to the Gift Fund instead of selling the assets and then donating the proceeds. The appreciated assets can either be sold or remain as they are to grow further. Either way you recommend which investments the assets are invested in.
The Gift Fund can also accept contributions of complex securities — including certain restricted stock. Contact our Financial Advisor for more details.
Simplify your record keeping
1 Information provided is general and educational in nature. It is not intended to be, and should not be construed as, legal or tax advice. The Gift Fund does not provide legal or tax advice. Content provided relates to taxation at the federal level only. Availability of certain federal income tax deductions may depend on whether you itemize deductions. Rules and regulations regarding tax deductions for charitable giving vary at the state level, and laws of a specific state or laws relevant to a particular situation may affect the applicability, accuracy, or completeness of the information provided. Charitable contributions of capital gain property held for more than one year are usually deductible at fair market value. Deductions for capital gain property held for one year or less are usually limited to cost basis. Consult an attorney or tax advisor regarding your specific legal or tax situation.
2 Contributions of cash must be by check, wire, or Electronic Funds Transfer and must be drawn upon an account in the donor's name. The Gift Fund will not accept contributions of currency or cash-like instruments, including cashier's checks, treasurer's checks, bank checks, bank drafts, traveler's checks, postal money orders, and money orders. These types of checks will be returned to the donor with an explanatory letter.
3 Contact us at email info@verdic-cf.org for more information.
Investment Options: Recommend how contributions are invested
You advise how contributions to the Vedic Community Foundation Gift Fund are invested to provide the potential for the assets to grow, which may ultimately result in additional dollars for charitable grants.
You can request a reallocation of the investment pools by recommending a pool exchange up to two times per month.
The Gift Fund provides four approaches to match your charitable giving objectives:
Supporting Temples and Projects
Make grant recommendations easilyOnce a Giving Account is set up and funded, you can recommend grants online, on the phone, by fax or by mail to any IRS-qualified public charity. The minimum grant recommendation amount is $50.
Customize grants
Grants to support foreign non US Temples and charities
There are several ways to support foreign temples and projects with the Gift Fund.
Relax while the Gift Fund handles the rest
We take care of all the administrative tasks for you.
A Donor Advised Fund allows you to make an irrevocable contribution and then recommend grants to qualified nonprofit organizations on your own timetable, often with the ability to remain anonymous.
Benefits
- Immediate tax deduction, up to 50% of adjusted gross income for cash, 30% for appreciated assets
- May avoid capital gains tax for gifts of long-term appreciated securities
- Can often accept many types of assets
- Professional investment management
- Can name successors to continue family involvement
Details
A donor advised fund is a program of the Vedic Community Foundation that allows donors to make contributions to various Temples and programs, become eligible to take an immediate tax deduction, and then make recommendations for distributing the funds to those qualified nonprofit organizations on their own timetable.
A donor advised fund offers benefits such as flexibility in grant recommending, including the ability to remain anonymous. Since the donor is eligible to take the maximum tax deduction available once they have made their irrevocable contribution, the VCF owns and controls the assets, allowing the donor to have only advisory over the distribution of charitable grants. This is why the grants are recommended by donors, not made by them.
The VCF also will generally perform due diligence to verify that each organization to which a grant is recommended is an IRS-qualified public charity, among other restrictions as specified by the policies of each sponsoring organization with a donor advised fund program.
As far as tax considerations, donors may be eligible to take a tax deduction of up to 30% of their adjusted gross income for contributions of securities, and up to 50% for cash contributions.
The three G's
The Vedic Community Foundation Fund Giving Account is a donor-advised fund, a type of charitable giving program that allows you to combine the most favorable tax benefits with the flexibility to support your favorite charities at any time.
Give: Make a contribution to the Gift Fund and set up a Giving Account. Then be eligible to take an immediate tax deduction.
Grow: Advise how your contributions are invested, which gives the assets the potential to grow.
Grant: Recommend grants to the charities you support, with the option of being recognized or remaining anonymous.
Tax Benefits & Contributions
Take advantage of favorable tax treatmentYou may be eligible to take an immediate tax deduction for each contribution. Because the Gift Fund is an independent public charity, contributions may qualify for larger tax deductions than those resulting from other alternative charitable solutions.
Donate appreciated securities to get the most tax savingsBy contributing securities with unrealized long-term capital gains directly to the Gift Fund, instead of selling the assets and then donating the proceeds, you can give more to charity and enjoy significant tax savings. View hypothetical example
Here's how it works: You contribute the actual securities to the Gift Fund instead of selling the assets and then donating the proceeds. The appreciated assets can either be sold or remain as they are to grow further. Either way you recommend which investments the assets are invested in.
The Gift Fund can also accept contributions of complex securities — including certain restricted stock. Contact our Financial Advisor for more details.
Simplify your record keeping
- Confirmations for each contribution serve as your tax receipt.
- A single tax form, IRS Form 8283, for filing purposes is provided for non-cash contributions of $500 or more.
1 Information provided is general and educational in nature. It is not intended to be, and should not be construed as, legal or tax advice. The Gift Fund does not provide legal or tax advice. Content provided relates to taxation at the federal level only. Availability of certain federal income tax deductions may depend on whether you itemize deductions. Rules and regulations regarding tax deductions for charitable giving vary at the state level, and laws of a specific state or laws relevant to a particular situation may affect the applicability, accuracy, or completeness of the information provided. Charitable contributions of capital gain property held for more than one year are usually deductible at fair market value. Deductions for capital gain property held for one year or less are usually limited to cost basis. Consult an attorney or tax advisor regarding your specific legal or tax situation.
2 Contributions of cash must be by check, wire, or Electronic Funds Transfer and must be drawn upon an account in the donor's name. The Gift Fund will not accept contributions of currency or cash-like instruments, including cashier's checks, treasurer's checks, bank checks, bank drafts, traveler's checks, postal money orders, and money orders. These types of checks will be returned to the donor with an explanatory letter.
3 Contact us at email info@verdic-cf.org for more information.
Investment Options: Recommend how contributions are invested
You advise how contributions to the Vedic Community Foundation Gift Fund are invested to provide the potential for the assets to grow, which may ultimately result in additional dollars for charitable grants.
You can request a reallocation of the investment pools by recommending a pool exchange up to two times per month.
The Gift Fund provides four approaches to match your charitable giving objectives:
- Asset Allocation models, for donors who want to implement a diversified investment strategy for their Giving Accounts in one easy step.
- Individual Investment models, for donors who want to build a custom strategy combining pools with specific investment objectives.
- Charitable Legacy model, for donors with Giving Account balances of $100,000 or more who are looking to implement a charitable giving strategy with a long-term approach similar to that of an endowment.
- Charitable Investment Advisor model, for donors with more than $250,000 in a Giving Account who would like to nominate their investment advisor to manage some of the Gift Fund's assets.
Supporting Temples and Projects
Make grant recommendations easilyOnce a Giving Account is set up and funded, you can recommend grants online, on the phone, by fax or by mail to any IRS-qualified public charity. The minimum grant recommendation amount is $50.
- All Account Holders, or any other individual you've appropriately authorized, can make grant recommendations.
- Recommendations are generally processed within 10 business days, and those made online to charities you've already recommended grants to are generally processed immediately.
- There are no restrictions on the maximum number of grants that can be recommended in any given time period, and the minimum requirement is at least one grant every seven years.
Customize grants
- Recognize. Your grant recommendation can be "acknowledged" to you, another person, or to the name you gave to the Giving Account, such as The Vishnu Family Fund. You can even recommend that the grant be made anonymously, if you prefer.
- Designate. You can recommend that the grant be used for a "special purpose," such as in memory or in honor of someone, or toward a specific use at the charity, such as a building campaign.
- Schedule. Your grant recommendation can be set up as an ongoing remittance or "scheduled grant." You can choose from the following frequencies: monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, and annually.
- Repeat. Once you've recommended a grant to a specific charity, you can easily recommend a "re-grant" to that charity anytime online, with one easy click.
Grants to support foreign non US Temples and charities
There are several ways to support foreign temples and projects with the Gift Fund.
- Through the Vedic Community Foundation directly or a registered ISKCON temple in the US. You can contribute hem and they can direct your contribution to your designated Temple or charitable program.
- Or you can use a U.S. "friends of" organization that supports — financially, operationally, or otherwise — a specific non-U.S. charity, like the “Care for Vrindavan Inc,” which is based in the US and funds the “Vrindavan Food for Life” Effort.
- Or, if the charity does not have an established means to receive donations from U.S. donors, you can recommend a grant to a U.S. intermediary charity whose mission it is to research foreign charities and facilitate grants to them.
Relax while the Gift Fund handles the rest
We take care of all the administrative tasks for you.
- The Gift Fund verifies the IRS public charity status before sending your grant.
- Based on your specific recommendations, a cover letter is sent to each charity specifying the special purpose of the grant.