Amplify Your Charitable Impact This Giving Season

Opportunities for Year-End Contributions

The countdown to the ball drop for 2019 is practically here. As the final days of this year slide by, there is still time to meet your charitable goals for 2018. Greater Cincinnati Foundation (GCF) can help you amplify the impact of your giving in several ways*.

  • A year-end gift to GCF’s Empowering Communities Annual Fund helps to support policy-level equity work throughout our region. Drawing from the results of this year’s All-In Cincinnati Action Plan, GCF is committed to raising the bar on our critical issue of affordable housing in 2019.
  • Bunching is the buzz word of 2018 tax deduction strategies, thanks to changes in the tax code that took effect this year. It’s an effective way to leverage both your contributions and tax commitment for the maximum social benefit.
  • Donors age 70½ and older may use Qualified Charitable Distributions – or QCDs – as a giving strategy for the required distribution of IRA assets, through direct transfer to support qualified public charities, including GCF.
  • As you plan for 2019, keep in mind the many upcoming opportunities on the horizon for which you may want to allocate year-end contributions to your donor advised fund. These include Providing a Safety Net grants funding our region’s most basic needs; joining a Giving Circle with other issue-focused philanthropists; Learning Links and Summertime Kids grants supporting innovative education projects; and the new Affordable Housing Impact Investment Pool utilizing an innovative funding model to address our region’s critical affordable housing gap.

As you make decisions about your year-end giving, please submit your recommendations to GCF by Wednesday, December 26 to ensure that your grants are received by the charitable organizations you support before December 31. If you are interested in giving a gift of appreciated stock, written transfer instructions must be provided to your broker as soon as possible — we recommend by Wednesday, December 26. To count as a charitable income tax deduction in 2018, gifts of stock — and checks — must be received into GCF’s account before 5 p.m. Monday, December 31. GCF will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays, except for Monday, December 24; Tuesday, December 25; and Tuesday, January 1, 2019.

To discuss arrangements for your year-end giving and grantmaking, please call GCF’s team at 513-241-2880. For a complete list of GCF staff, visit www.gcfdn.org/yourstaff.

*GCF staff does not provide tax or legal advice. The information provided is for illustration purposes only.