Tax Rates 2015
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Gift Tax Exclusion and Capital Gains 2015
The Gift Tax Exclusion for 2015 is $14,000 per year, per person.
What does this mean?
Estate Tax exemption for 2015
The basic federal estate-tax exclusion amount for estate of people who die in 2015 is $5,430,000, up from $5,340,000 in 2014.
Donor Bill of Rights
This is a widely used statement outlining an "industry standard" of what how we, as fundraisers and nonprofits, should view and treat our donors.
The First Visit - Three Quick Tips
Wondering how to approach that first visit to a major gift prospect? Mayo Clinic Development Officer Patrick Steward offers his top three goals for a first visit to a potential benefactor.
The Cost of Making a Gift
A donor wants to make a $20,000 outright gift to your organization. What's the difference to his bottom line if he: 1) writes a check for $20,000, or 2) gifts the stock, or 3) sells the stock and gifts the proceeds?
Trusts
Trusts are a key aspect of non-charitable estate planning. Yet they are important for gift officers to have a handle on, both because it works to your advantage to have a complex understanding of the potential goals and avenues available to your benefactors, and
Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT)
The Alternative Minimum Tax is a tax meant only for the wealthy, but one that has paralyzed much of the middle class for decades. Fortunately, as of the end of 2012, it has been permanently defanged. Granted, the AMT hasn’t gone away. But this law, which has been modified 19 times since 1969, will need no more patches.
Living Trust (Inter Vivos)
Living Trust (Inter Vivos) – A trust in which the person who establishes it benefits from it during his/her lifetime and, in common usage, is revocable by the donor.
There are no tax advantages to establishing a living trust--nor is there anything automatically charitable involved in such a trust.
Guidelines for Gift Officers
Gift officers are not Boy Scouts, but the Scouts' motto of Be Prepared fits well in the realm of the gift officer. Below, please find what we're calling guidelines but could just as well be called strategies— tactics for developing a successful gift officer modus operandi.