tvc.dsj.org | October 23, 2018
COMMUNITY
9
Bunching: Good for Your Checkbook, Good For Charity
By Marie Galetto
Marketing & Grants
Program Manager, Catholic
Community Foundation of
Santa Clara County
Bunching your charitable dona-
tions is a win-win for your taxes and
for the charities you donate to regu-
larly. Tax incentives are rarely the only
reason you give to charity, but they
are always a nice benefi t when mak-
ing a gift. Bunching your donations
with a Donor Advised Fund is mainly
a strategy for saving on your taxes,
but it also provides the charities you
love with stable, consistent income on
which they depend.
What is “Bunching”?
“Bunching” is when you combine
multiple years of your “normal”
charitable donations into a single year.
For example, a person who normally
gives $10,000 a year to charity would
“bunch” two years’ worth of dona-
tions into a single year; meaning they
would give $20,000 to charity one year
and $0 to charity the next.
Why “Bunch” Your Donations?
Bunching your donations means
that during the year you donate to
charity, your charitable deduction
combines with other itemized de-
ductions to increase the likelihood
of exceeding the newly increased
standard deduction. Your available
tax deduction can actually increase if
you use bunching, as you can see in
the four-year bunching comparison on
our website (see “DAF Ideas: Bunch-
ing” here: cfoscc.org/category/articles) curately budget and fundraise.
The solution for both taxpayers and
charities is a Donor Advised Fund.
This allows you to receive the full tax
benefit of bunching, but also gives
you the time and fl exibility to advise
grants to multiple charities with no
time limit instead of in one lump
sum. A Donor Advised Fund is like
a “charitable checking account.” You
receive the tax deduction when you
add money to the fund because that
money can only ever be granted to
nonprofi t organizations. Your money
grows tax-free in your fund and you
don’t have a time limit for when you
need to spend the money.
Why “Bunch” Using a
Donor Advised Fund?
While simply making all your do-
nations in one year will get you the
tax benefi t, it can cause volatility in
the charities you support. They will
receive surpluses and shortfalls in
bunching and non-bunching years,
making it much more diffi cult to ac- Why Open a
Donor Advised Fund Now?
Now is the perfect time to open
a Donor Advised Fund (DAF) at the
Catholic Communit y Foundation
because we have a DAF Match! When
you open a DAF, an anonymous donor
will match your fund 5% up to $5,000
(that’s free money for you to grant
A Fair of the Arts
The Sisters and Associates of Notre
Dame de Namur invite you to an arts
and crafts fair, boutique, and baked
goods event at Notre Dame High
School in San Jose on Saturday, No-
vember 10. Join us for A Fair of the
Arts, and welcome artists and crafts-
men and women. The fair will include
homemade items and baked goods. All
proceeds support the Sisters of Notre
Dame and their missions in Africa
and Latin America. Events included
at the Fair will be ticket raffl es, basket
raffl es, entertainment, plants, vintage
treasures, and the Sunfl ower Café.
For more information, please visit
www.snddenca.org/fair or contact
Kathy Noether at [email protected].
OBERAMMERGAU
A Passion Play Journey to Hungary,
Austria and Germany under the spiri-
tual direction of Bishop Patrick J. Mc-
Grath and Father Christopher Bennett
for 11-days: September 3 to 13, 2020.
As demand for tickets is high and
space on tours will be limited, it im-
portant to book your place as soon
as possible. To secure your ticket, we
ask that you make a reservation with
a depost.
For more information please con-
tact Father Chris Bennett at (408) 269-
2226 or [email protected].
CAREGIVER-ELDERCARE
IN-HOME CARE AGENCY
We are offering COMPETITVE
Rates & Flexible Schedules
408-677-3682 | 408-613-7189
caregivereldercare.com
from your fund at any time) and the
Foundation will give $500 to your
parish.
It takes $10,000 to open a DAF and
you can advise grants to Catholic and
non-Catholic organizations all over
the U.S. While our services are similar
to commercial DAFs in many ways,
the big benefi t of opening a DAF at
the Foundation is that we are the only
local, Catholic partner off ering this
service. This means we are able to tell
you about great programs making an
impact in our local community that
could use your support. We also invest
all our funds using USCCB guidelines
and you will know that even the fees
you pay on your fund help further
Catholic ministry in our community.
For more information about the Do-
nor Advised Fund Match, please visit
cfoscc.org/DAF-Match.