by Amy Roy | Oct 15, 2019 | Charitable Giving, Donor Impact, Featured, Linked In |
Catalyst: (noun) A person or thing that precipitates an event. The Advise Us Foundation is a nonprofit working as a catalyst to philanthropic giving for individuals and fellow nonprofits. As an organization that advances philanthropy, Advise Us is helping to change the world we live in by catalyzing donors’ intentions into support of non-profits’ important missions. From its earliest days, Advise Us has offered donor-advised fund giving to individuals to help them plan their philanthropic donations and legacies while at the same time take advantage of tax incentives that maximize philanthropic impact. Individuals are able to create or add to a charitable fund based on when it is a good time for them to give. They, in turn, can grant money out from their fund as donations to nonprofit organizations at any time they wish. Through the inspired generosity of those taking advantage of this charitable giving tool, the Advise Us Foundation has granted gifts to numerous organizations from the smallest start-ups to large educational institutions. Advise Us is also a catalyst for other charitable organizations by enabling them to create and use expanded giving options for their donors. The staff and volunteers of Advise Us have collectively decades of fundraising experience with a concentration on planned giving. Working in partnership with organizations to offer hands-on tactical advise and services affords these organizations the ability to increase their fundraising capabilities thereby increasing their mission-based impact for generations to come. The Advise Us Foundation also offers other means of direct support to the charitable community through educational seminars. With a special focus on small and medium-sized charities, our free educational...
by Amy Roy | Oct 11, 2018 | Charitable Giving, Featured, Foundations, Linked In |
“Plans are nothing; planning is everything.” Dwight D. Eisenhower A little planning can go a long way. Did you know that making a planned gift will not only help ensure the health of the organizations you support long into the future but can also provide benefits to you? What exactly is planned giving? And, how can you benefit from it? In short, a planned gift is the type of gift that requires a little more thought than simply writing a check or processing a credit card. It’s a gift, as the name implies, that you’ve planned for – you’ve given consideration about from where and how the gift will be received. The great thing about planned giving is that it allows you to give wisely and take advantage of tax strategies and giving vehicles that provide benefit to you while at the same time maximize the amount of charitable dollars that can benefit an organization. Planned giving can come in many forms and fall under three general categories. Outright gifts: One of the most basic and common is a gift of appreciated stock or securities that allow you to pass on the gains to your favorite organization. Making a charitable gift of appreciated stock that you’ve held for a year or more saves you the tax burden as you avoid realizing the capital gains, yet still allows you to deduct the current value of the stock if you itemize. Gifts that return income: Other types of planned gifts can be set up to provide a stream of income either to you or the organization you choose to support. ...
by Amy Roy | Jul 10, 2017 | Charitable Giving, Featured, Linked In |
In our ongoing effort to help make planned giving more accessible, collaborative and beneficial for charities, we hosted a workshop led by fundraising expert Laura Kaufman. The fourth in our series of free seminars and workshops, Engaging Your Donors for Life-Long Giving, invited Chicago-area nonprofits to learn about strategies and tactics for engaging donors over a long time horizon. Laura covered three major areas with us: The Individual Donor (ID) Marketplace. What is Engagement and Why Does It Matter? Driving Donor Engagement. State of Giving: National and Chicago Area Trends Nonprofits are experiencing more giving than ever before. In each category, numbers are on the rise, year over year. According to Giving USA’s report, giving by bequest is up 2.1%, giving my individuals is up 3.8% and total giving has increased 4.4%. The next question is, where is the money going? This chart from Giving USA breaks it down nicely. Drilling down to the specific Chicago area market, the Chicago Community Trust shared some interesting data. Compared to a national average of 59%, 73% of Chicagoans give to charity. 49% of Chicago households volunteer and 78% of dollars donated by Chicagoans stay in the region. What is Engagement: Often overlooked, donor engagement is absolutely critical for the long-term health of an organization. While nonprofit fundraisers are busy managing many initiatives for their organization, donor engagement must be the core of their day-to-day. Research shows doing so will make capital and annual giving campaigns go more smoothly, netting better results. The donor engagement cycle can be broken down into these simple components: Recruit/Inspire, Learn, Engage, Ask, Thank, Repeat, Upgrade and...
