Establishing a donor-advised fund directly with the Trust is simple, strategic, and provides tax advantages.
Among the many giving solutions that the John MacArthur Charitable Trust offers to serve its partners, one has become popular for its simplicity, convenience, and tax advantages: the donor-advised fund, or DAF.
With a DAF, donors make contributions to one dedicated charitable account. Those assets can then be invested and grow tax-free — before the giver strategically decides when and where to grant the funds.
The process is commonly described as Give, Grow, Grant.
A TOOL FOR STRATEGIC GIVING
For those supporting multiple causes, a DAF can simplify both the paperwork and process of giving. For example, consider someone who gives to six different ministries.
“That could be six different checks that you’re writing and six different ministries that you’re receiving tax receipts for,” said Jon Popadics, a development officer with the MacArthur Trust. “A DAF allows you to give to one place, which then sends you an itemized receipt each year so that it’s clean and not confusing for yourself or your tax preparer.”
Donors receive an immediate tax deduction when they make contributions, making DAFs a useful tool for tax savings in high income years.
Popadics explained, “If I sell my business, this is probably going to be my highest income year for the next five years, and I’m probably going to have much less income the next five years. Typically, this means I wouldn’t be able to give much during that time.
“However, with a donor-advised fund, I can make one initial gift in order to match the large income I received and decrease my taxable liability this year. But I can still continue to give over the next five years out of the fund, and experience the ongoing joy that comes with being generous.”
FIND SOLUTIONS WITH THE TRUST
Donors can now establish a DAF directly with the MacArthur Trust and receive guidance in line with their missional commitments. The Trust has worked with many kinds of assets, from appreciated stocks to business interests to personal articles like instruments and art – maximizing opportunities that might have been lost otherwise. Unlike many financial service corporations, the Trust does not charge administrative fees.
“We believe it’s a service to our donors,” Popadics said.
Donors then decide what resources to direct to the ministries they’re passionate about, whether that’s media ministry, scholarships, university programs, or training centers in a specific part of the world.
In providing options such as DAFs to steward investments, the Trust seeks to honor each person’s intent — a conviction stemming from 2 Corinthians 9:7, finding what that person is purposed in their heart to do, not grudgingly or under compulsion, but cheerfully under the Lord to execute their gift of giving and invest it into kingdom purposes.
To open a donor-advised fund with the MacArthur Trust, please contact info@jmacarthurtrust.org or 661.525.5777 for more information.
