Maximize the Benefits of Your Charitable Giving

It’s certainly the season for giving – and when you make charitable gifts, you can both give and receive.

To get the most out of your gifts, your first step is to make sure you are giving to a worthy charity. That means you’ll need to ask some questions. How does a group measure its effectiveness? And does it use its money wisely? Is it devoting as much of its contributions as possible to the actual work of the organization, or is it spending too much money on administrative costs? Generally, a worthwhile charity should spend at least 75 percent of its income on programs.

You may be able to find this type of information in a charitable group’s annual report and on its website. But if you want to dig deeper, and get information from an independent source, you may want to go to the website of one of the agencies that evaluates charitable groups. On these sites, you can get a lot of information dealing with a charity’s effectiveness, income, spending, mission, governance, transparency, executive salaries and other topics.

Once you’ve chosen a charity, or charities, you can decide how much you want to give. And your generosity will be rewarded, because your gift to a qualified charitable organization may entitle you to a deduction against your income tax, as long as you itemize deductions. A “qualified” charitable group is one that the government has classified as a tax-exempt organization. Ask your intended charity for information on its tax status. Reputable nonprofits will be more than happy to offer proof.

But what if you’d rather not simply give cash to the charitable group? What if you’ve owned some stocks for several years, and the stocks no longer fit your investment needs? Should you sell the stocks and then donate the proceeds to the charitable group?

You could – but you’ll likely be better off, from a tax standpoint, by simply donating the appreciated stocks. If you were to sell these stocks, you’d have to pay capital gains taxes. Consequently, your gift to a charity would end up costing you more than just the loss of the asset.

But if you directly donate the appreciated stocks to the charity, you’ll get an immediate tax deduction, which is normally worth the property’s fair market value. And, perhaps even more importantly, you’ll avoid any capital gains taxes on the donated stocks’ appreciation. If you’ve held the stocks for a long time, and they’ve increased in value substantially, these capital gains taxes could be significant.

Cost, Access to NBCTC High Among Concerns North Berkshire Residents

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
06:15PM / Thursday, April 25, 2024

Adams Select Chair Christine Hoyt, NBCTC Executive Director David Fabiano and William Solomon, the attorney representing the four communities, talk after the session. 

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Public access channels should be supported and made more available to the public — and not be subject to a charge.

 

More than three dozen community members in-person and online attended the public hearing  Wednesday on public access and service from Spectrum/Charter Communications. The session at City Hall was held for residents in Adams, Cheshire, Clarksburg and North Adams to express their concerns to Spectrum ahead of another 10-year contract that starts in October.

 

Listening via Zoom but not speaking was Jennifer Young, director state government affairs at Charter.

 

One speaker after another conveyed how critical local access television is to the community and emphasized the need for affordable and reliable services, particularly for vulnerable populations like the elderly. 

 

"I don't know if everybody else feels the same way but they have a monopoly," said Clarksburg resident David Emery. "They control everything we do because there's nobody else to go to. You're stuck with with them."

 

Public access television, like the 30-year-old Northern Berkshire Community Television, is funded by cable television companies through franchise fees, member fees, grants and contributions.

 

Spectrum is the only cable provider in the region and while residents can shift to satellite providers or streaming, Northern Berkshire Community Television is not available on those alternatives and they may not be easy for some to navigate. For instance, the Spectrum app is available on smart televisions but it doesn't include PEG, the public, educational and governmental channels provided by NBCTC.