Your client has had a very good year and may face significant income taxes. He or she also wants to use some of this wealth to benefit the community, but they are not sure in what way. The clock is ticking and the end of the year will soon be here. Establishing a donor advised fund with the Montana Community Foundation can provide immediate tax benefits, including the Montana Endowment Tax Credit, and provide the opportunity to work with us on how best to benefit the community to meet the client’s goals. Grants can be made at the client’s convenience.

Your client can take advantage of significant tax advantages with a charitable addition to his or her estate plan. A bequest to create an endowment fund will support a cause important to them in perpetuity. Not only can we help identify the cause best suited to your client, we can also help identify the best way to deliver maximum tax benefits.

While your client may have an interest in starting a foundation, he or she doesn't have the resources needed to start and support it and/or isn't able to manage this time-consuming endeavor. We offer your client a time- and cost-saving alternative—the Donor Advised Fund or DAF. As an easy-to-create endowed fund, a DAF allows your client to make recommended annual distributions (similar to grantmaking from a foundation), while MCF assumes responsibility for the management of the funds and handles all the day-to-day details.

Your client has highly appreciated stock and faces large capital gains tax. With a charitable gift, he or she may realize a tax deduction for the full market value and avoid the capital gains tax. A planned gift may also allow your client to take advantage of the Montana Endowment Tax Credit for additional tax savings.

Your client realizes they may not have enough income from appreciated assets to support them in retirement. Giving options such as charitable gift annuities and charitable remainder trusts may help solve this problem while also providing a benefit to a worthy cause in their community.

From a tax and financial standpoint, retirement assets such as 401(k)s and IRAs are often the worst assets to leave heirs due to the high rate at which they will be taxed. Donating these assets to charity and leaving other assets to heirs can often offer the greatest tax advantages. The Montana Community Foundation can help you and your client evaluate their assets and situation to create a plan to minimize taxes and create a lasting benefit for charity.