Top 5 things to do before leaving for the holidays
It's the most wonderful time of the year, right? Let me rephrase.....It's the most hectic time of the year!
With the hustle and bustle and good cheer, there are five essentials you must take care of before you and your development team go over the river and through the woods to....spin a dreidel, dreidel, dreidel.
1) Make sure your stock transfer information is accurate on your website and that there is a rock-solid plan in place to handle all last minute gifts of all kinds. Your donor will not be happy if they send their gift to the wrong broker and the delay causes their stock to lose value to the tune of, hmmm, say around $50K....yes, that happened but thankfully not on my watch!
2) Alert your tax savvy donors who are 70 1/2 years and older that they can give your charity up to $100K from their IRA. This deal, which has historically needed Congressional approval, is set to expire (again) on December 31, 2013, so now is the time to toot the Charitable IRA Rollover horn! This gift is perfect for donors who, at 70 1/2 years of age, must take a mandatory distribution, but don't need the income. With a Charitable IRA Rollover, your donor won't have to pay any taxes on the distribution as long as they roll it over directly to a qualified charity (with the exception of private foundations, donor advised funds, and supporting organizations). And since IRA's are HEAVILY taxed when left in an estate, they lose considerable value if left to heirs.
3) Use the end of the calendar year to create a sense of urgency with donors who have been solicited but have not yet made a firm commitment. C'mon, asking is the easy part, right?! Closing gifts takes skill and deadlines and/or a sense of urgency of any kind, as long as it is legitimate, can be a helpful strategy to increase your success. Use it. Own it.