Philanthropy

Some Thoughts on Rockefeller’s “Giving While Living” Survey

January 27, 2020 Of all the factors that go into creating a philanthropic legacy, central to it all is the “time horizon” for that legacy. According to Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, roughly two thirds of legacy-minded philanthropists opt for their philanthropy to last in-perpetuity; the other third choose a time-limited approach in which the dollars of a legacy fund are spent down or spent out within a fixed period of time.…

Our Take on Giving USA’s “Leaving a Legacy” Report

November 13, 2019 Philanthropic-minded individuals write their first will on average when they are 44 years old and almost all (91.6%) use a legal advisor to help them.  That’s according to our friends at Giving USA who just released findings from their survey of 860 donors interested in planned giving.…

Major Step Forward: CFNJ Advocates for State Charitable Deduction in Trenton

March 4, 2019 Moments ago, the Senate Budget & Appropriations Committee unanimously approved Senate Bill 2179 which would allow New Jersey taxpayers to take a state income tax deduction for contributions to qualified New Jersey charities. The Community Foundation of New Jersey was in the room with our friends from the Center for Non-Profits and spoke with Senators on the merits of a state income tax deduction for charitable giving.…

Study: Donor Advised Funds Give Lifeline to Nonprofits During Recessions

February 27, 2019 When the next recession hits, donor-advised funds are expected to help cushion the financial blow faced by nonprofits, even as other revenue sources decline, a new study finds. The study — conducted by Dan Heist, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, and Danielle Vance-McMullen, an assistant professor at the University of Memphis — used Internal Revenue Service data from 2007 to 2016 to analyze the grant making activity of donors who have funds at 996 donor-advised-fund sponsors.…

Community Foundation Grantmaking Way Up for 2018, Tops $66 million

The Community Foundation of New Jersey (CFNJ) today thanked its more than 1,100 fundholders for recommending a record 7,722 individual grants in 2018 totaling $66.7 million. This figure represents a $17 million increase in dollars going to worthy causes as compared to last year’s total of $49.5 million from 6,515 grants.…

Commentary: Tax law creates new approach to giving

November 23, 2018 The below article was published by the New Jersey Hills Media Group. Click here for the original article. Ask any New Jerseyan about our state’s biggest challenges and you will hear about property taxes, the pension system, or New Jersey Transit.…

Investing In and For Good

January 12, 2018 The word “philanthropy” usually brings to mind the act of giving in support of a worthy cause. And this description is, of course, true. At its core, however, philanthropy is much more. As entrepreneur and philanthropist Eli Broad famously said, “Charity is just writing checks and not being engaged.…

RegentAtlantic: Tax Planning for 2018 and Beyond, Bunching Donations

January 2, 2018 See below for a detailed summary of recent tax changes from our friends and partners at RegentAtlantic. The recent tax law changes were the most disruptive changes to the tax code in more than 30 years.  The most impactful changes to personal income tax were the elimination and limitation of most major itemized deductions.…