Joe and Donna Britt Testimony

The Church often speaks into the gifts of the laity in the language of 'time, talent and treasure'. These are each significant offerings we can - and should - contribute to the building of the kingdom here on earth.

My husband, Joe, and I do our best to co-labor in the vineyard and offer some of the treasure we have been blessed with using a Charitable Fund. This mechanism offers a way to make charitable contributions offering significant tax and personal benefits. We find it an appealing option for our family. Our Fidelity Charitable Fund, a leading donor-advised fund (DAF), creates a streamlined approach to giving, combining financial efficiency with philanthropic impact.

Tax Advantages

For us, one of the primary benefits of utilizing a Fidelity Charitable fund is the immediate tax deduction it permits us in the year our donation is made. The added advantage is the actual distribution to charities can occur in future years. We get to maximize our tax deduction while planning charitable giving over a longer period of time.

For others who might consider giving to the Catholic Church using a charitable fund, there are some other helpful facts to consider. Contributions to the fund are generally deductible up to 60% of your adjusted gross income (AGI) for cash gifts and up to 30% for appreciated securities, such as stocks or mutual funds. By donating appreciated assets directly to the fund, you can avoid capital gains taxes on the appreciation, making this a particularly tax-efficient strategy. For example, if you have stocks that have increased in value, donating them to the fund allows you to deduct the full fair market value while avoiding taxes on the capital gains.

Additionally, donors can benefit from the flexibility in timing their charitable contributions. By contributing to a Fidelity Charitable fund in a high-income year, you can take advantage of the higher tax deduction, while disbursing funds to various charities in future years when it might be more financially advantageous or when charitable needs arise.

Personal Advantages

On the personal side, we appreciate using our Fidelity Charitable funds because it is streamlined and user-friendly. We can centralize our philanthropy in one place which simplifies record-keeping and how we issue the donations. In the online portal we can track our donations - its' a one-stop shop! For us, nearly 100% of our donations support the ongoing work of the Catholic Church.

Moreover, using a donor-advised fund can enhance your ability to plan and coordinate giving strategically. The flexibility to allocate funds over time helps in making more thoughtful, impactful contributions rather than rushing to distribute funds at year-end. For example, we set up a monthly offering to our parish which can help the parish throughout the year versus a single donation at the beginning or end of the year. Others, we donate to on a quarterly basis as well to support the efforts - and it becomes something the organization can count on and plan accordingly.