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You are here: Home / business / How to Give like a Billionaire

How to Give like a Billionaire

by jlcollinsnh 54 Comments

I know what you’re thinking.  For sometime now you’ve been wondering what exactly Mr. and Mrs. jlcollinsnh have in common with Bill and Melinda Gates.  Here it is:

We both have Charitable Foundations

Now you’re thinking, “I knew it!  jlcollinsnh is a billionaire!”  In this you’d be, sadly I must say, mistaken.  More monk than minister, I’m afraid.

The Gates Foundation Building

Our foundation has no building at all

We talk a lot on this blog about investing and building your own F-you Money stash.  Very little time is spent on, well, spending it.  Since we  personally don’t much care for owning things we’ve not much to say.  We like travel.  We do spend on that.  Sending our daughter to college is money well spent, as she is so thoroughly embracing the experience.

But the money we’ve spent that has provided us with the most pure pleasure is that we’ve been privileged to give away.

In fact, I can specifically pin-point the $1200 that has given us the most satisfaction return of all.  I hesitate telling this story as it will be easy to read it as bragging when it’s only meant to illustrate.  Hope you take it in that spirit.

Many years ago we attended a charitable auction held by the Catholic grammar school our daughter then attended.  We had always been impressed with the teachers and the Mother Superior who ran the place.

One of our favorite local restaurants was Parkers.  Parkers had donated for auction a gourmet dinner for ten.  On the spur of the moment we decided to win it and gift it to the school’s teachers.

Bidding was spirited but as the amounts reached the actual cost of dinner for ten at Parkers, the competition dropped off.  At around $1200 we were the winners.

When I gifted it to the Mother Superior I also gave her two obligations.  First, she would have to choose which ten, of the about 15, teachers would get to go.  Second, she herself would have to attend.  See, we know this Mother Superior and needed to head off her selfless ways.

Parker stepped up

When word spread a couple of very interesting things happened.  Parker stepped up and expanded his donation to dinner for 15 so everyone got to go.   Another bidder offered to foot the bill for the wine.

Well, you know what happens when you mix fine food, wine and Catholic school teachers.  Let’s just say, a good time was had by all, and leave it at that….

In addition to personal pleasure, one of the benefits of charitable giving is the tax deduction.  Of course, to gain this benefit you must itemize your deductions on your tax return.  But if you have less than $11,600 (Married and Filing Jointly.  $5600 if Single) in itemized deductions you are better off taking the standard deduction and saving yourself the effort.

Five or six years ago it occurred to me that two life changes were coming down the pike that would affect my personal tax situation.  We were planing to sell the house and I was planning to retire.  Without the house and it’s associated deductible costs we’d no longer be itemizing.  Upon retiring I’d be in a lower tax bracket.  Both these things would be lowering the tax advantage of charitable giving.  The solution:

The JJ Collins Charitable Fund

If you’ve been reading this blog much you already know I’m a big fan of Vanguard.  So it should be no surprise that in setting up our foundation we used The Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program.  Here’s why:

  • You don’t have to be a billionaire.  You can open your own foundation with as little as $25,000.  Fancy building not included.
  • You get the tax deduction in the year you fund your foundation.  So I got to take the tax benefits when they mattered most to me.
  • If you have stocks or mutual funds or other assets that have appreciated in value you can move these directly into your charitable foundation. You get the tax deduction for their full market value and you don’t have to pay any capital gains taxes on the gain.  Double tax win and more $$ for your charities.
  • You can choose a variety of investment options so your donation grows tax free while waiting for you to allocate it.
  • You decide what charities receive your money, how much and when.  You can set this up to happen automatically.
  • You can add more money to your foundation whenever you choose.
  • Because it is run thru Vanguard, expenses are rock bottom.
  • Now I can tell unwanted solicitors, “We only give thru our foundation.  Please send us your written proposal.”  We’ve gotten exactly zero proposals.
  • It keeps our personal names off the lists some charities sell to future solicitors.

In addition to the tax advantages this offers, it also plays into some of my conclusions regarding charitable giving:

  • It is best to concentrate your giving.  We have selected two charities.
  • Giving small donations to many charities might be satisfying to you, but it dilutes the impact and a greater percent of your gift is eaten up in the processing of it.
  • Many small donations also gets you on many mailing lists.
  • Never give to phone solicitors.
  • The more I see a charity advertising, the less likely I am to believe they are focused on delivering my cash to those they claim to serve.
  • You need to do your homework.  In addition to scams, lots of charities simply aren’t very efficient in delivering your dollars to those in need.  You can check them out here: http://www.charitynavigator.org/

 

You don’t need a charity to help

There is also something to be said for giving outside the traditional, and tax-deductible, places.  Helping your friends and neighbors directly isn’t deductible, but it has immediate benefits all around.  This is something I’ll be trying to do more of in the coming years.   Finally, while giving is a fine and pleasant thing, no one has an obligation to do so.  Anyone who tells you differently is trying to sell you something, most likely the idea of giving to them and/or their pet projects. As individuals we only have one obligation to society: To make sure we, and our children, are not a burden to others.  The rest is our personal choice.  Make your own and make the world a far more interesting place. Addendum: For another great take on this approach, here’s Mrs. Paradise…

 The best way to spend your money, period.

Related

Important Resources

  • Talent Stacker is a resource that I learned about through my work with Jonathan and Brad at ChooseFI, and first heard about Salesforce as a career option in an episode where we featured Bradley Rice on the Podcast. In that episode, Bradley shared how he reached FI quickly thanks to his huge paychecks and discipline in keeping his expenses low. Jonathan teamed up with Bradley to build Talent Stacker, and they have helped more than 1,000 students from all walks of life complete the program and land jobs like clockwork, earning double or even triple their old salaries using a Salesforce certification to break into a no-code tech career.
  • Credit Cards are like chain saws. Incredibly useful. Incredibly dangerous. Resolve to pay in full each month and never carry a balance. Do that and they can be great tools. Here are some of the very best for travel hacking, cash back and small business rewards.
  • Personal Capital is a free tool to manage and evaluate your investments. With great visuals you can track your net worth, asset allocation, and portfolio performance, including costs. At a glance you'll see what's working and what you might want to change. Here's my full review.
  • Betterment is my recommendation for hands-off investors who prefer a DIFM (Do It For Me) approach. It is also a great tool for reaching short-term savings goals. Here is my Betterment Review
  • NewRetirement offers cool tools to help guide you in answering the question: Do I have enough money to retire? And getting started is free. Sign up and you will be offered two paths into their retirement planner. I was also on their podcast and you can check that out here:Video version, Podcast version.
  • Tuft & Needle (T&N) helps me sleep at night. They are a very cool company with a great product. Here’s my review of what we are currently sleeping on: Our Walnut Frame and Mint Mattress.
  • Vanguard.com

Filed Under: business, Life, Money

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Comments

  1. Dollar D @ The Dollar Disciple says

    February 8, 2012 at 11:15 pm

    Wow! Sounds like a fantastic way to make a big impact!
    I have dreams of setting up some kind of foundation in my later years and had no idea it was that easy. Or that it could be done without millions of dollars.

    Reply
    • jlcollinsnh says

      February 9, 2012 at 11:31 pm

      piece of cake to set up.

      one other thing I forgot to mention. If you have stocks or mutual funds or any assets that have appreciated in value you can move it directly into charitable foundation. You get the tax deduction for its full market value and you don’t have to pay any capital gains taxes on the gain.

      Double tax win and more $$ for your charities.

      think I’ll add this into the post….

      Reply
  2. femmefrugality says

    February 10, 2012 at 7:52 pm

    That’s really amazing. I’m nowhere near ready to set up my own foundation, but when I am I’ll know where to go now 🙂 I really like that kid at Duke’s blog…thanks for sharing.

    Reply
    • jlcollinsnh says

      February 10, 2012 at 8:55 pm

      You will be sooner than you think. 🙂

      Yeah, I like the Spartan Student, too, and I was really impressed with his concept and execution of the Dare Mighty Things Scholarship.

      Reply
      • femmefrugality says

        February 13, 2012 at 11:52 am

        Me, too. And the story of the person he sent….really cool.

        Reply
  3. hvaccontrols says

    February 11, 2012 at 9:57 am

    Jim, great article. I will be sharing it with my father. He definitely want to do more charitable giving and this sounds like a great plan.

    Reply
    • jlcollinsnh says

      February 11, 2012 at 4:37 pm

      thanks Tom…

      Glad you liked and to see you’re still reading this stuff. Please give your dad my regards.

      Mmmm, wonder if I can get this blog classified as a charity….

      😉

      Reply
  4. Kari@Small Budget Big Dreams says

    February 19, 2012 at 10:56 am

    I have to admit I don’t give as much to charity as I’d like, but as my income grows that will probably change. I do have to admit that I sort of think of all the unpaid overtime I work as charity to the homeless (I’m a social worker at a homeless shelter). I love that you won and gave that dinner to the teachers. My mom is a public school teacher and they deserve so much more credit then what they get. They are teaching and shaping tomorrow’s leaders after all.

    Reply
    • jlcollinsnh says

      February 19, 2012 at 11:38 am

      Hi Kari…

      thanks for stopping by, and welcome.

      Giving is, as you know, not just about money. I have a great friend from high school who retired and returned to school to get his masters in social work. It is a tough and often thankless field.

      Each year I work as a volunteer with VITA (volunteer income tax assistance) helping lower income people complete their tax returns. It’s fun for me and I get to meet some interesting and wonderful people. Certainly shatters the common assumptions about the poor.

      My guess is your work with the homeless does the same.

      Reply
  5. Cindy says

    February 21, 2012 at 9:22 am

    Wonderful article! Doing your homework is an important step to charitable giving. Vanguard Charitable is a great way to give to your favorite 501c3 charities and the homework is done for you! Jim..you did an excellent job relaying all the reasons why a donor-advised fund is a good option for philanthropy. Thanks for being such a great ambassador to giving!

    Reply
    • jlcollinsnh says

      February 21, 2012 at 12:56 pm

      Thanks Cindy….

      …I appreciate the kind words. Glad to have you here and delighted to see you’ve subscribed!

      Hope to see more of your comments.

      Reply
  6. Fritz Hahn says

    February 21, 2012 at 2:57 pm

    Hi Jim-
    Thanks for your informative article. As a social worker I am keenly interested in meaningful gifting – especially when considering current diminished funding in light of increasing demand.
    Some thoughts from the book “Getting to Maybe: How the World is Changed,” by Westley, Zimmerman and Patton: think of the Grameen Bank model for microloans for entreprenurial start ups. Outcomes, accountability and tests of inference are important for established programs, but as a potential (micro) funder for start ups consider: (quoting from “Getting to Maybe…”):
    1) Support learning as a meaningful outcome – and reporting on learning as a form of authentic accountability.
    2)Create and nurture experimentation and learning about social change, especially failed policies and initiatives.
    3) Support small “safe-fail” initiatives to learn what works and doesn’t work before implementing policy changes widely.
    Thank you for your wrtiting and
    thank you to your readers for their responses.
    Fritz Hahn, Taos New Mexico

    Reply
  7. Mr. Risky Startup says

    May 26, 2012 at 2:51 pm

    Thanks for the post. I may be crazy, or it may have something to do with me living in Canada, but I refuse to use charitable donations as a tax-break. It may be different in the US, but in Canada government does a pretty good job providing social assistance to all those in need. Yes, I am sure that there is some abuse, some people are lazy jerks who suck the system, but vast majority (maybe 98% of the money) goes to those in need. And yes, government on occasion does something ridiculous and often wastes money, but I bet that overall, they are more efficient than any non-profit organization could be.

    Secondly, I must say that I disliked Bill Gates for a very long time – as a nerd, some of his moves did slow down the development of the new technology, some great things never took off as his inferior product simply steam-rolled over it… However, what he is doing now, not only with his own money, but also by having other billionaires donate even more – is nothing short of amazing. There are thousands of children in this world that are alive today thanks to his work and contribution.

    Reply
    • jlcollinsnh says

      May 26, 2012 at 6:19 pm

      Hey Mr. RS….

      good to see you here and thanks for commenting!

      yeah, I gather Canada throws a wider safety net than we do here in the US. Although a lot of tax dollars are spent on social causes here too.

      The argument I’d make for charities over government in handling these things is that charities have to win you over to get your money. governments just take it. accordingly it seems to me the charities have more motivation to run efficiently.

      that said, I think the even better choice is low key, local help provided to people and situations we can know personally. of course, here in the USA those kind are not deductible. that’s why I funded my foundation during my high tax/valuable deduction years. now, I’m free to do more of the more personal stuff and not worry about the deductions.

      Bill Gates seems to be a person that others have very strong feelings about. As for me, he was just a good foil for this post.

      Reply
      • Mr. Risky Startup says

        May 26, 2012 at 9:44 pm

        I agree about keeping the charity close to home.

        P.S. Forgot to mention in my earlier post – I shared some of your posts with my better half and she says she loves your writing style.

        Thanks for taking time to write – it is kind of you to share your story to help others who are striving for the same result.

        Reply
        • jlcollinsnh says

          May 26, 2012 at 10:34 pm

          thanks for letting me know and please give your lovely bride my thanks and regards.

          of course now that I know she’s reading I’ll be expecting her to comment. 😉

          Reply
  8. CL says

    September 23, 2012 at 4:45 pm

    I love this roadmap. It’s definitely something that I’ll use when I have $25000 to give away.

    Reply
  9. Tom Mullen says

    May 29, 2013 at 11:37 am

    Wise words. And they can only help make the world a better place! On reading, I originally thought that that Parker may be the wine guru, then realized that though he’s not, he is definitely a guru, and a very generous one at that. Inspiring story. Thanks.

    Reply
    • jlcollinsnh says

      May 29, 2013 at 11:59 am

      Hi Tom…

      Glad to see you found your way to this post. It’s one of my personal favorites.

      We never knew Parker all that well, just as diners at his joint. Still, I remember a pretty nice wine list and I’d be surprised if he didn’t know his way around it.

      He sure knew his way around food!

      Reply
      • Tom Mullen says

        May 29, 2013 at 1:28 pm

        What goes around, comes around. Often in the most unusual ways!

        Reply
  10. cv says

    June 3, 2013 at 10:09 pm

    Dear Mr. Collins,

    Thank you so much, first of all, for your help on my questions and comment previously on consolidating my assets. I enjoy reading all your posts- they have a very unusual flair. I often find myself reading them over again and taking away different points.

    I really appreciate your perspective on “giving”, not acting out of perceived duty, but out of sincere wish to benefit others. I was wondering if you can shed some light on my personal giving scenario:

    I’ve been working regularly for approximately 8 years, have been working seriously hard on stashing my FU money since the beginning of this year and planning to work full time for no more than another 10-15 years.

    I tithe a portion of my take home paycheck to the local church i go to (by choice), which comes out to 5k a year. I am not yet a registered member, still feeling the parish out- last year, they did not even bother sending me a tax receipt because I was “not registered”. Due to the location of this parish, there are some seriously wealthy patrons, including former domino farms pizza owner. So I am thinking of taking my contribution elsewhere. Obviously the funds at the moment is too small to start any kind of foundation; are there other options (aside from the uber-low-yield savings account at the bank I can contribute regularly and grow the money in, and donate a lump sum at the end of each year?

    I also volunteer 60-70 hours a year, and regularly take donations in if for some reason i am not able to meet the tithe amount during a given month.

    Hope this makes sense.

    Reply
    • jlcollinsnh says

      June 4, 2013 at 11:33 pm

      Hi CV…

      My first reaction is I’d instantly stop giving to any organization so unappreciative. 5k is a lot of money!

      There are just too many wonderful options. Just click on the Charity Navigator link in the post and you’ll find plenty.

      If the deduction is less important to you, as it is to me now, you might consider what I suggest at the end of the post: Direct and personal giving to friends, neighbors and local organizations whose work you value. These have little or no overhead or fund raising, so every penny goes to work helping.

      As for where to keep the money until you donate, even as low as rates are, the bank account is still the place. As it is for any money you’ll be giving/spending/using in the next few years. Investing is long-term: 5 years minimum. Decades ideally.

      You could also start an investment fund with the annual 5k each year, not yet donating any. In five years or so you’ll be at the 25k mark for the https://www.vanguardcharitable.org/giving/home.html

      You could then set it up and authorize distributions while adding to it as you chose. This is what I’d do. You’ll be creating something that will last longer and do more good.

      Good luck!

      Reply
  11. Jim says

    February 21, 2014 at 11:14 pm

    Great post, never gave ‘starting a foundation’ any thought because I didn’t understand the benefits, but your post helps shed light on them. I love Charity Navigator, never make a donation without checking them out first, be sure to check their ranking!!

    Reply
    • jlcollinsnh says

      April 4, 2014 at 1:39 pm

      Glad it helped, Jim!

      Absolutely. Whether contributing directly or thru your charitable trust, it pays to vet any organization before sending them your money!

      Reply
  12. Workinghard says

    March 25, 2014 at 10:09 pm

    I don’t know how many times I’ve thought about a charitable trust fund. It’s been on my someday wish list. However, it’s my understanding that any money in the fund can only go to qualified non-profit or tax exempt organizations. Is that correct? Or can the money be used to help individuals in need? We give 10-12k a year to people rather than churches or organizations. I also prefer giving anonymously which calls for some creativity and using people out of state to help. It would be nice to have some of the advantages of a charitable trust fund.

    Thanks for addressing this topic! Now to read your other blogs.

    Reply
    • jlcollinsnh says

      April 4, 2014 at 1:27 pm

      Welcome WH…

      Correct. Your fund can only contribute to qualified, established charities. I suspect this is because, since it is tax deductible, the same rules for IRS charitable tax deductions apply.

      As it happens, like you, I frequently prefer to give directly to individuals and small organizations that may not qualify.

      So what I do is occasionally fund my charitable trust with larger donations that get me over the IRS standard deduction for the tax benefit. This money is then distributed over the next several years.

      At the same time the money I choose to give anonymously and to places not qualified I give randomly and without concern for the tax break.

      Hope that helps.

      Reply
      • Workinghard says

        April 4, 2014 at 2:25 pm

        Thanks for replying and everything you’re doing to help us (me)!

        I don’t care about the tax advantages per se of a charitable trust but the anonymity would be great.

        Reply
      • N Bosler says

        April 7, 2015 at 5:51 pm

        Can you give to your church from a charitable foundation?

        Reply
        • jlcollinsnh says

          April 7, 2015 at 6:48 pm

          Yes, assuming the specific church is recognized as charitable and tax-exempt by the IRS.

          Reply
  13. bookaunt says

    March 29, 2014 at 6:03 pm

    Just to let you know that you can open a charitable gift account at Fidelity for $5000 while you are waiting to build a bigger stake.

    Reply
    • jlcollinsnh says

      April 4, 2014 at 1:35 pm

      Good to know, bookaunt.

      But for smaller sums like $5000 I would just distribute the cash directly to the charities of my choice without bothering with a charitable trust.

      Such trusts, in my view, are better at providing an immediate tax advantage for a larger donation that will be distributed over time.

      For instance, unless you have other deductions $5000 will be under the standard deduction amount and no tax benefit will be realized.

      But if you fund your trust with 25k and then distribute the money over five years at 5k per year, you get a very valuable 25k deduction in the year you fund your trust.

      Make sense?

      Reply
      • bookaunt says

        April 5, 2014 at 2:01 am

        There are are times when even a $5k charitable fund can be useful. It worked for us a couple of years ago when we wanted to sell some stock that had a significant capital gain. By funding our gift fund with that stock, we were able to shield the profit from taxes – worthwhile to us even though the amount was not much over $5k (but we did have other deductions).

        Also – when looking at setting up one of these funds, note that both Vanguard and Fidelity charge an annual cost/maintenance fee.

        Reply
  14. Josh Fire says

    December 14, 2014 at 2:07 pm

    Hello jlcollinsnh-

    My name is Josh, and I have an idea that I think can bring the FIRE community together and help starving children in Africa while providing evidence to support or reject the 4% SWR model.

    I would like Wade Pfau, Mr. Money Mustache, Mad Fientist, and yourself to become board members of a Michigan-based 501c3. Together, we would:

    1. Incorporate the 501c3.
    2. Solicit donations from the FIRE community via our blogs for our 501c3 with a minimum target of $25,000 to open a Vanguard charitable fund.
    3. Before the first annual report is due, we would dissolve the 501c3 and transfer all of the funds to the Vanguard charitable fund. We would pick how the funds are invested at the start.
    4. We would set up the charitable fund to donate 4% each year to the charity that best serves our goal of feeding children in Africa.
    5. We report out on the portfolio size each year and show that the 4% SWR model works (or not).

    I will do the legwork to create the 501c3, write the Articles of Incorporation, and I can even donate $1000 (maybe by matching donations) to the 501c3 to get started. I can also provide conference calls for us to meet as needed.

    This blog post of yours and mine at http://footpathtofire.com/216/saddest-thing-ever-seen gave me this idea.

    Please let me know your thoughts, and feel free to contact me to discuss further. I already emailed Wade Pfau and Mr. Money Mustache, and I am going to try to find contact information Mad Fientist. If you have a way to contact him, I would love your help in getting him involved.

    Best regards,
    Josh

    Reply
    • jlcollinsnh says

      December 15, 2014 at 6:57 pm

      Hi Josh…

      Interesting concept and certainly a worthwhile cause.

      Personally, I am trying to eliminate things from my plate, rather than add any more.

      That said, Mr. MM and MF are both friends of mine and I’d enjoy a project that brings us together. Plus, I’d be very interested in meeting Mr. Pfau.

      For your consideration, here are my concerns:

      1. Charitable giving is a very personal and sometime contentious subject. See the comments in this post: https://jlcollinsnh.com/2014/12/09/micro-lending-with-kiva/

      2. I’m not sure people need to go thru us for their giving.

      3. No matter what charity we select, there will be those who find fault.

      4. Charities are imperfect organizations and, even using sites like Charity Navigator, not entirely transparent. When we chose to give to one on our own, we accept that risk. I’m not sure I’d be comfortable encouraging others to follow my lead into any specific charity.

      5. I don’t think we’d prove anything regarding the 4% rule. The time horizon is simply too long for it to prove out and even then we’d only be proving that it worked, or not, for the year we started.

      In any event, please keep me posted on your progress and the input of the others.

      All the best!

      Reply
  15. Mary says

    January 9, 2015 at 3:46 am

    I can’t thank you enough for this post.

    I realized that 2014 would most likely be my last year in the 33% (+9.3% state) marginal tax bracket, as I am drifting towards retirement, and this gave me the perfect solution to three problems. 1)I had a substantial sum in VGSIX that was worth roughly double my cost basis, 2)I felt that my asset allocation had too much exposure to RE, and 3)I earned more money in 2014 than I had anticipated, meaning I would probably get hit with a penalty for underpayment of estimated taxes. So I opened a Vanguard DAF last month and funded it with the VGSIX shares, and boom, all problems solved!

    I hope you have a wonderful 2015!

    Reply
    • jlcollinsnh says

      January 9, 2015 at 4:21 pm

      Hi Mary…

      Thanks so much for letting me know.

      Sounds like a perfect solution for you, and your charities.

      Glad to hear this post came to you when needed! 🙂

      Reply
  16. Howard says

    July 24, 2015 at 9:02 am

    Thanks for this information.

    I’m a little confused by the vanguard charitable site. Do you have to donate to a 503(c) organization? I assume so as it is tax deductible?

    I’ve had the thought of giving to some friend’s kid’s college expenses in the future, if/when I have the money. But this would obviously not be tax deductible. Would it be easiest just to do this out of cash, or could I set up some grant with $50k and give 4%/year? Would be cool to have my own: “Mr H’s educational grant for the advancement of science”! 🙂

    Reply
    • jlcollinsnh says

      July 27, 2015 at 9:03 pm

      Hi Howard…

      Yep, you must contribute to charities the IRS recognizes.

      For contributions other than those, you’ll need to fund from other sources and it it won’t be tax deductible. I once gave 25k to cover grad school expense for a friend in just this way. It’s a great thing to do. Getting a tax break isn’t the only thing. 🙂

      Reply
  17. Matt says

    October 8, 2015 at 9:40 pm

    Mr. Collins,

    Thank you for taking the time to share your knowledge and experience. I have been almost obsessively reading you articles and learning a ton and even some confirmation of decisions/thoughts I have made in the 10 years of my adult working life. The recent move from an amazing job to slightly less amazing job put me in search of what it would take to be FI and tighten up my financial life. As it turns out we have been living on about 50% of our take home pay and investing the rest and are only aprox three years away from having FU money and having the options that go along with it.

    I am working on moving away from a financial adviser (with the 1% AUM fee and expensive funds) who was handling part of our investments and moving it to Betterment account, that I signed up from your article. Every year we give a minimum percent of our income to charity and this post has me researching donor advised funds and the option of transferring all our shares with capital gains into a Vanguard donor advised fund. The other option is to gift them directly to a charity. My question is: Since we will continue to gift that percentage of income (so a minimum specific $ amount) per year in the future could I systematically invest that money into Betterment and then once or twice per year gift that same amount to the donor advised fund using shares with capital gains and avoid the capital gain taxes and/or continue to raise the cost basis of my investment portfolio? Plausible effective strategy?

    Again, thank you and sorry for the long-winded and beginner’s question.

    Reply
    • jlcollinsnh says

      October 8, 2015 at 10:29 pm

      Welcome Matt…

      Glad you found your way here!

      The advantage of a donor advised fund is to concentrate your giving into a single year for tax purposes and yet still be able to distribute the money (or perhaps the money it earns) over multiple years.

      If your plan is to give a certain amount every year, I don’t see the need for the middleman. Just give directly to the charity.

      Make sense?

      Reply
      • Matt says

        October 9, 2015 at 10:03 pm

        Yes it does, thank you for the clarification. I appreciate it.

        Reply
  18. Physician on FIRE says

    July 15, 2016 at 9:58 pm

    Yes, the Donor Advised Fund.

    Big fan, having used several of them. I started with T. Rowe Price since that’s where my taxable fund was.

    When I moved my money to Vanguard, I started a Vanguard DAF at Vanguardcharitable.com. I later realized that although the costs were lower than T. Rowe Price’s, the minimum grants were $500. I like to give smaller amounts to a wider array of mostly local charities. Like Josh Fire suggested, I treat mine like a nest egg, giving a little more than a 4% SWR, but maybe give 5% to 6% from it each year.

    I discovered Fidelity Charitable, also mentioned in the comments above. Yes, it can be started with only $5,000, compared to Vanguard’s $25,000, but the bigger advantage for me is the $50 minimum grant. And the fees are nearly identical to Vanguard’s.

    Last year, we gave from $100 to $1000 to 15 different charities, and I imagine we’ll exceed that this year. We give half of my blog revenue to charity, most of it via our Donor Advised Fund.

    Best,
    -PoF

    Reply
  19. Mollie says

    October 3, 2016 at 3:18 pm

    I love this post! I also love that it brought fellow social workers out of the woodwork. =) Kudos for giving those teachers a very memorable night out!

    Out of curiosity, does having a charitable foundation help out with taxes when RMDs come into play with an IRA or 403b/401k?

    Reply
    • jlcollinsnh says

      October 3, 2016 at 9:06 pm

      Thanks, Mollie!

      If you transfer money to your charitable fund directly from an IRA or 401k/403b you get the tax deduction on the amount and avoid capital cains taxes on any gain. Move money out of those accounts then reduces the amount of your RMDs when the time comes.

      This is a much better way to make contributions rather than just out of cash flow you’ve paid taxes on already.

      Reply
  20. jkenny says

    October 6, 2016 at 11:42 am

    I just did this (set up a DAF) and it never never never would have occurred to me if I hadn’t read this post many months ago. This. Feels. Great! Thanks (again) jlcollinsnh for all your great practical advice that regular people can follow.

    Reply
    • jlcollinsnh says

      October 6, 2016 at 7:23 pm

      Glad to hear it resonated with you…

      …thanks for letting me know!

      Reply
  21. Dan says

    October 21, 2016 at 1:05 am

    When you open the DAF, is it assigned a EIN/TIN? Are you responsible for filing a tax return? Or does Vanguard Charitable handle the details including tax filings?

    Reply
    • jlcollinsnh says

      October 21, 2016 at 6:51 pm

      Nope, your Vanguard DAF handles it all.

      I report my contributions on my itemized charitable deductions when I file my tax return and that’s it.

      Reply
  22. Paul Sheridan says

    November 17, 2017 at 1:59 pm

    I’m attracted to this idea, but I can’t seem to make it work. I think the problem is that I would normally itemize (so the first 12,700 I move to the DAF “doesn’t count”), that my tax bracket is the relatively reasonable 25%, and that I’m still in the wealth accumulation phase.

    When I say “won’t work,” what I mean is that if I’m going to give $1,000 a year to charity, my net worth will be higher at the end of the day just giving $1,000 a year in cash, and not getting any deduction for it, versus giving $25,000 to DAF, then giving $1,000 a year out of the DAF and taking the $1,000 in cash and applying it to savings.

    This even seems to be true, according to my math, if find a few other itemized deductions in the giving to DAF year, reinvest the tax savings, and give appreciated securities to the DAF.

    Am I missing something? It seems like I’m just not in the right phase of life to make this a good option.

    Reply
  23. Pearse says

    February 2, 2018 at 9:35 am

    Nice article! I’ll be linking to this soon.

    The Linked article by FrugalParadise doesn’t work. Does anyone have one that does?

    Reply
  24. Tandoori says

    June 10, 2019 at 12:22 am

    JL Collins, you just saved me $50K in taxes. Thank you.
    With a huge tax year this year, and much lower tax years going forward in which we won’t be itemizing, this strategy of setting up a DAF seems like the right approach in my particular circumstance.

    Reply
  25. Anan says

    June 29, 2019 at 1:29 am

    Great info regarding donor-advised funds.

    A Donor-Advised Fund is not the same thing as a Private Foundation though…This was confusing. Would have been nice if setting up and operating a private family foundation was that easy.

    https://www.vanguardcharitable.org/resource_center/giving_options_pf/
    https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/private-foundations/life-cycle-of-a-private-foundation

    Reply

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      • Chautauqua 2014 preview, closing up for travel and other random cool things that caught my eye of late.
      • Case Study #10: Should Josiah buy his parents a house?
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      • 1st Annual Louis Rukeyser Memorial Market Prediction Contest 2013 results, and my forecast for 2014
  • ► 2013 (41)
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      • Closing up for the Holidays, see you in 2014
      • Betterment: a simpler path to wealth
      • Case Study 6: Helping an ill and elderly parent
      • Stocks -- Part XX: Early Retirement Withdrawal Strategies and Roth Conversion Ladders from a Mad Fientist
    • ► November (3)
      • Death, Taxes, Estate Plans, Probate and Prob8
      • Case Study #5: Zero to 2.6 million in 25 years
      • Case Study #4: Using the 4% rule and asset allocations.
    • ► October (3)
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      • They Will Kill You For Your Shoes!
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      • Stocks -- Part VIII-b: Should you avoid your company's 401k?
      • Shilpan's Seven Habits to Live More with Less
      • Stocks -- Part XIX: How to think about money
      • My path for my kid -- the first 10 years
    • ► May (5)
      • Why your house is a terrible investment
      • Stocks — Part XVIII: Investing in a raging bull
      • Dining with the Ghosts of Sarah Bernhardt and Alfons Mucha
      • How we finally got the house sold
      • Stocks — Part XVII: What if you can't buy VTSAX? Or even Vanguard?
    • ► April (4)
      • Greetings from Prague & a computer question
      • Swimming with Tigers, a 2nd chance on the Chautauqua, a financial article gets it wrong and I'm off to Prague
      • Storage, Moving and Movers
      • Homeless, and a bit on the strategy of dollar cost averaging
    • ► March (4)
      • Wild Turkeys, Motorcycles, Dining Room Sets & Greed
      • Roots v. Wings: considering home ownership
      • How about that stock market?!
      • The Blog has New Clothes
    • ► February (5)
      • Meet Mr. Money Mustache, JD Roth, Cheryl Reed & me for a Chautauqua in Ecuador
      • High School Poetry, Carnival, cool ads and random pictures that caught my eye
      • Consignment Shops: Best business model ever?
      • Cafes
      • Stocks -- Part XVI: Index Funds are really just for lazy people, right?
    • ► January (5)
      • Social Security: How secure and when to take it
      • Fighting giraffes, surreal landscapes, dancing with unicorns and restoring a Vanagon
      • My plan for 2013
      • VITA, income taxes and the IRS
      • How to be a stock market guru and get on MSNBC
  • ► 2012 (53)
    • ► December (6)
      • See you next year....until then: The Origin of Life, Life on Other Worlds, Mechanical Graveyards, Great Art, Alternative Lifestyles and Finding Freedom
      • Stocks -- Part XV: Target Retirement Funds, the simplest path to wealth of all
      • Stocks -- Part XIV: Deflation, the ugly escort of Depressions.
      • Stocks Part XIV: Deflation, the ugly escort of Depressions.
      • Stocks -- Part XIII: The 4% rule, withdrawal rates and how much can I spend anyway?
      • How I learned to stop worrying about the Fiscal Cliff and you can too.
    • ► November (2)
      • Rent v. owning: A couple of case studies in Ecuador
      • So, what does a month in Ecuador cost anyway?
    • ► October (4)
      • See you in December....
      • Meet me in Ecuador?
      • The Podcast: You can hear me now.
      • Stocks -- Part XII: Bonds
    • ► September (6)
      • Stocks -- Part XI: International Funds
      • The Smoother Path to Wealth
      • Case Study #I: Putting the Simple Path to Wealth into Action
      • Tales of Bolivia: Calle de las Brujas
      • Stocks -- Part X: What if Vanguard gets Nuked?
      • Travels in South America: It was the best of times....
    • ► August (1)
      • Home again
    • ► June (4)
      • Yellow Fever, closing up shop for the summer and heading to Peru y Bolivia
      • I could not have said it better myself...
      • Stocks -- Part IX: Why I don't like investment advisors
      • Happy Birthday, jlcollinsnh; and thanks for the gift Mr. MM!
    • ► May (6)
      • Stocks -- Part VIII: The 401K, 403b, TSP, IRA & Roth Buckets
      • Mr. Money Mustache
      • The College Conundrum
      • Stocks -- Part VII: Can everyone really retire a millionaire?
      • Stocks -- Part VI: Portfolio ideas to build and keep your wealth
      • Stocks -- Part V: Keeping it simple, considerations and tools
    • ► April (6)
      • Stocks -- Part IV: The Big Ugly Event, Deflation and a bit on Inflation
      • Stocks -- Part III: Most people lose money in the market.
      • Stocks -- Part II: The Market Always Goes Up
      • Stocks -- Part 1: There's a major market crash coming!!!! and Dr. Lo can't save you.
      • You can eat my Vindaloo, mega lottery, Blondie, Noa, Israel Kamakawiwo 'Ole, art, film and a ride on the Space Shuttle
      • Where in the world are you?
    • ► March (7)
      • How I lost money in real estate before it was fashionable, Part V: Sold! and the taxman cometh.
      • How I lost money in real estate before it was fashionable, Part IV: I become a Landlord.
      • How I lost money in real estate before it was fashionable, Part III: The Battle is Joined.
      • How I lost money in real estate before it was fashionable, Part II: The Limits of the Law.
      • How I lost money in real estate before it was fashionable, Part I: Impossibly Naive.
      • You, too, can be conned
      • Armageddon and the value of practical skills
    • ► February (6)
      • Rent v. Owning Your Home, opportunity cost and running some numbers
      • The Casanova Kid, a Shit Knife, a Good Book, Having No Regrets, Dark Matter and a bit of Magic
      • What Poker, Basketball and Mike Whitaker taught me about Luck
      • How to Give like a Billionaire
      • Go ahead, make my day
      • Muk Finds Success in Tahiti
    • ► January (5)
      • Travels with "Esperando un Camino"
      • Beanie Babies, Naked Barbie, American Pickers and Old Coots
      • Selling the House and Adventures in Staging
      • The bashing of Index Funds, Jack Bogle and a Jedi dog trick
      • Magic Beans
  • ► 2011 (22)
    • ► December (1)
      • Dividend Growth Investing
    • ► November (2)
      • The Mummy's head, Particle Physics and "Knocking on Heaven's Door"
      • "It's Better in the Wind" or why I ride a motorcycle
    • ► October (1)
      • Lazy Days and School Days
    • ► July (2)
      • The road to Zanzibar sometimes goes thru Ecuador...
      • Johnny wins the lotto and heads to Paris
    • ► June (16)
      • Chainsaws, Elm Trees and paying for College
      • Stuff I’ve failed at: the early years
      • Snatching Victory from the Jaws of Defeat
      • The. Worst. Used. Car. Ever.
      • Top Ten reasons your future is so bright it hurts my eyes to look at it
      • The Most Dangerous Words Your Customer Can Say
      • How not to drown in The Sea of Assholes
      • What we own and why we own it
      • The Ten Sales Commandments
      • My ever so formal and oh so dry CV
      • How I failed my daughter and a simple path to wealth
      • The Myth of Motivation
      • Why you need F-you money
      • My short attention span
      • Why I can’t pick winning stocks, and you can’t either
      • The Monk and the Minister

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