I mentioned I was able to participate in a meeting with about a dozen fairly high-end charitable givers. Our host at the meeting told us about a giving strategy that he and his family have begun pursuing in the last few years, a strategy that can “pay back” in tax deductions as much as or even more than whatever you gave.

I thought it was well worth mentioning this strategy just in case you find yourself in a position to make donations of, say, a hundred thousand dollars or more and you’re not yet at the point where you are giving 50% of your AGI (Adjusted Gross Income) to charity.

This strategy could multiply your ability to give. Read the rest of this entry »

Last August I wrote a brief outline of what one might want to include in a Gifting Criteria Statement.

As I was picking through a pile of papers on my desk on Saturday, I came across the actual document our family has at the moment. I thought you might find it interesting and, possibly, useful–at least as a discussion-starting model for your family’s statement: Read the rest of this entry »

Last Monday I got to see a demonstration of software meant to make the administration of private foundations much easier. Among other things, the program offers compliance services, including a review of grants to ensure there is no self-dealing; a review of potential recipients of grants to ensure they are, in fact, 501(c)(3) organizations, and thus eligible to receive tax-deductible donations; and a constant vigil over total annual foundation disbursements to ensure that the foundation hits its five percent (5%) minimum distribution requirement.

It was this last service that caught my eye. Read the rest of this entry »

As I noted last week, I wrote an official Holzmann Family Foundation Gifting Criteria document and presented it at our family meeting last Thursday.

It was received rather well, all things considered.

Our legacy planner, who has been in the business for over 15 years, said, “This is the best family foundation gifting policy document I have ever seen.”

He wasn’t commenting on the purposes or directions toward which I was suggesting our family ought to give. He said it was the thoroughness and the depth of thought that had gone into it. That was certainly gratifying to hear!

I thought maybe you would like to know what I had included in the document. So here’s an outline of the subject matter covered in the document. Read the rest of this entry »

I bumped into a cynically humorous post about charitable giving and its effects. It reminded me of a slim but instructional book that concludes with the sage observation: humility is a virtue, pride is a sin, and . . . arrogant philanthropy can wreak havoc.

But let us start with the cynical humor. Read the rest of this entry »