Commodity Giving
Commodity Giving
Continue Your Legacy By Funding Our Mission
When considering a gift to FIA, most people think about cash in the bank. But cash is usually the smallest portion of our wealth. Assets such as investment portfolios, real estate, and business interest often add up to more than 75% of a person’s wealth. The obstacle to using these appreciated assets is that an outright sale of the asset is a tax-heavy event to be avoided.
With a little planning in advance, the tax burden when liquidating appreciated assets can usually be reduced or eliminated if you include charitable giving as part of the plan. An effective asset-based giving plan can capture tax dollars you would pay on the sale of the asset and channel those dollars to ministry. These gifts could be more than you ever thought possible, multiplying your Great Commission impacts!
Appreciated Securities
Stocks, bonds, and mutual funds.
Did you know appreciated stocks, mutual funds, and bonds in a taxable investment portfolio can be transferred as gifts to support Kingdom work? Giving stocks (that you have held for more than one year) directly to FIA provides a significant opportunity to avoid capital gains tax, receive a deduction at the full-market value of the securities, and simplify your giving. In fact, giving appreciated stock can be more beneficial than giving cash!
Business Interests
Ownership in closely-held businesses, LP’s, LLC’s, or S-Corp.
If you own shares in a privately held business such as a C-Corporation, Limited Partnership (LP), or Limited Liability Company (LLC) and those shares have significantly increased in value over time, some of those shares can be donated to FIA. Doing so can usually avoid long-term capital gains taxes, plus you can claim a charitable deduction for the asset’s fair market value.
Life Insurance
Whole, universal, or variable.
A life insurance policy also can allow you to leave a legacy—not just for the people you love but for causes that are important to you. That’s because FIA can receive the payout from a life insurance policy. Life insurance provides a death benefit several times larger than the premium paid, it is a great way to boost your charitable giving.
You can name FIA as the beneficiary of a life insurance policy just as you can name people beneficiaries. Because you can name more than one beneficiary, you can divide the death benefit among your loved ones and FIA. The percentage of the payout FIA gets is up to you. If you have an existing policy, it’s easy to change the beneficiary to FIA.
Or, rather than name FIA as the beneficiary of your policy, you could also transfer ownership of an existing policy to give FIA immediate control of the contract. FIA could name itself the beneficiary and receive a tax-free payout when you die.
Finally, you have another option if you want to get a charitable contribution tax deduction but don’t want to transfer ownership of your life insurance policy. If you have a permanent life insurance policy, you might be receiving dividends from the insurance company. You can have the current year dividend directed to FIA. If there is a pool of prior dividends built up in the contract, you can gift those as well to FIA and get a tax deduction for that amount—up to tax income limits. In both cases, current dividend or pool of dividends, the base life contract stays in place.
New Or Discounted Supplies
Tools, machines, equipment
Bless FIA by donating new, or used and in good working order, items! Or grant us discounts to buy supplies essential to our projects! Either way, you could gain a tax deduction while seeing the Gospel reach the ends of the earth.
Personal Property
Royalties, copyrights, patents, vehicles, artwork, or precious metals.
By making a non-cash gift, you can have a direct hand in helping FIA speed the Gospel to unreached people groups. These gifts could include property such as vehicles, gold and diamond jewelry, game systems, boats, coin collections, and more. Once accepted, FIA will work to liquidate these items and direct the funds to any of our worldwide projects, turning your non-cash gift into an investment in eternity.
Real Estate
In many cases, appreciated real estate can be transferred to FIA as a tax-wise charitable gift.
FIA receives the generous gift of real estate.
In the year you make the gift, a charitable tax deduction is available for the fair market value of the property, as established by a qualified appraisal. If you are not able to use the entire deduction in the first year, then you have up to five additional years to use the remaining amount.
The property is sold by FIA, as a charity, relieving you of any capital gain tax you would have paid if you owned and sold the property yourself.
The full untaxed proceeds of the sale are available to be used as part of your legacy of making Jesus known among the nations.
FIA will consider gifts of residential and commercial real estate as well as undeveloped land. A due diligence process is required before acceptance of a real estate gift.
Commodity Giving
Not Sure Where To Start?
If you have any questions about non-cash giving, would like to arrange your gift over the phone, or prefer to donate items directly to Friends In Action, please contact our Partnership Development Team. Our team will be happy to discuss how your items could support and help further our work around the globe in Jesus’ Name.
The content found on this site is general in nature and intended to be used for informational purposes only. It should not be relied upon as legal, tax, accounting, or other professional advice. To determine how a gift or estate planning decision might affect your particular circumstances, it is expressly recommended that you consult an attorney, financial advisor, or another qualified professional. Friends in Action makes no representations or warranties as to the accuracy or timeliness of the information contained herein.