8 Types of Charitable Giving慈善捐赠的八种方式
作者：韦斯·莫斯
来源：《英语世界》2021年第11期
How to determine what type of charitable giving is best for you
如何找到最適合的慈善捐赠方式
Charitable giving is one way that many people elect to support a specific cau or organization that is clo to their heart. From a financial standpoint， charitable giving can be an important part of your estate， tax， and financial planning. In fact， twenty-six percent of taxpayers itemize charitable deductions on their tax return.
Depending on the type of your estate， the amount of money you want to give， and how you want to give it， you may find that you’re unsure of what type of charitable giving can work best for you and your philanthropic goals. There are veral different ways you can give， each with its own pros and cons， depending on what you’re looking for.
Donor-advid funds
A donor-advid fund is a type of charitable giving where you donate a nonrefundable amount， either in cash or curities， to a nonprofit of your choice.
The advantage to this type of giving is that if you feel very clo to the cau or organization and want to be involved with how the funds that you give are utilized， you are able to direct the fund’s administrator to which grants you think should be made. You also immediately receive the maximum tax benefit from the IRS for your contribution， and you can t up the funds to continue even after your death.
Real estate
If you are still living in the property that you’d like to give away， you can t it up to become a charitable contribution by having the deed to your real estate transferred after your death. At that point， the value of the home will be taken out of your estate， lowering your estate taxes. You may also find a great tax benefit by donating real estate. In some cas， you may be eligible for a tax deduction equal to the fair market value of the real estate.
Cash
A cash gift is the simplest form of charitable giving. Your tax deduction is equal to the amount of cash you donated， minus the value of any goods or rvices you received in return. For example， memberships to non-profits， like a zoo or some other organization， are considered cash gifts. Titles， certificates， or stocks are not transferred in a cash donation either.
Stocks
There are two huge advantages to contributing long-term appreciated curities， like stocks.
One， since you are not lling your stocks， there are no capital gains taxes to be concerned with， and the more appreciation the stocks have， the bigger your tax savings will be. The cond advantage is that any of your stocks that were purchad over a year ago that have a current value greater than their original cost can be donated and become eligible for a tax deduction equal to the full fair market value of the stock.
Charitable trusts
There are two types of charitable trusts you may be interested in making part of your financial plan—a charitable lead trust （CLT） and a charitable remainder trust （CRT）.
Charitable Lead Trust is a trust that you establish by transferring asts into the trust and donating a stream of income from the asts to a charitable organization each year. Money left in the trust at the end of the period you’ve established to donate can be disburd to other beneficiaries or held in the trust.
Not only is this great for transferring wealth to your heirs， but it also provides consistent cash flow to the charity of your choice. The only disadvantage is that it requires annual administrative management.
Charitable Remainder Trust is similar to a CLT， with one big difference. In a CRT， the beneficiaries and donor are paid first， receiving their stream of income before the charitable organization does. However， this is beneficial as it gives you and your beneficiaries income and diversifies your investments.
