Posted by: OntheColumbia
Support Your Favorite Fish/Fishing Group! - 12/28/05 05:42 PM
Fishing is my personal passion.
If fishing and fish are important to you and you itemize your Federal taxes, you ought to consider making a donation to a charitable fishing organization that supports your values, before Jan 1, and get a 2005 tax-deduction.
Despite all the licenses sold and the popularity of angling, fish/fishing organizations get a minuscule slice of the region’s charitable dollars.
For your gift to be tax-deductible, the organization needs 501c3 status. Most are. You can verify their status by phoning, checking their website or the states’ attorney generals office:
(Oregon’s database search– http://www.state.or.us/cgi-bin/OrgQuery.pl )
(not sure of Washingtons?)
If you want to see how gifts are spent, review the financial background of a 501c3 at (free registration required):
http://www.charitynavigator.org
http://www.guidestar.org
Not all charities are listed at these sites, but most of the larger ones and many small ones are have posted their required public-disclosure, financial documents there .
Along with writing a check here’s a couple options:
1. Make a gift of stock by transferring the shares from your broker to the charity. Claim the full market value and avoid any capital gains liability (thus making appreciated shares a good choice). Ask you broker about making an electronic “DTC” transfer; you’ll need the charity’s receiving DTC “address” too.
2. Lots of fishing organizations hold auctions/raffles and are glad to receive good quality gear suitable to their events. Request an itemized receipt; you determine and claim the fair-market-value as a charitable deduction.
Beyond year’s end, have you considered including a fish/fishing group in you estate plan? Inclusion in a will or trust usually comes to mind first. However, you can easily plan a gift to charity via a beneficiary designation on many kinds of accounts such as - retirement plans, IRA’s, brokerage accounts, life insurance, bank accounts, and annuities. Simple to do and no attorney required. You can’t take it with you, so after providing for your family, why not leave a legacy to fish and fishing?
I’ve given just the briefest descriptions so feel free to PM me for specific questions. Not wanting this thread to get sidetracked into “which group is best?! - I’ve purposely not listed any organizations. Safe to say, there’s one out there that promotes your values.
If fishing and fish are important to you and you itemize your Federal taxes, you ought to consider making a donation to a charitable fishing organization that supports your values, before Jan 1, and get a 2005 tax-deduction.
Despite all the licenses sold and the popularity of angling, fish/fishing organizations get a minuscule slice of the region’s charitable dollars.
For your gift to be tax-deductible, the organization needs 501c3 status. Most are. You can verify their status by phoning, checking their website or the states’ attorney generals office:
(Oregon’s database search– http://www.state.or.us/cgi-bin/OrgQuery.pl )
(not sure of Washingtons?)
If you want to see how gifts are spent, review the financial background of a 501c3 at (free registration required):
http://www.charitynavigator.org
http://www.guidestar.org
Not all charities are listed at these sites, but most of the larger ones and many small ones are have posted their required public-disclosure, financial documents there .
Along with writing a check here’s a couple options:
1. Make a gift of stock by transferring the shares from your broker to the charity. Claim the full market value and avoid any capital gains liability (thus making appreciated shares a good choice). Ask you broker about making an electronic “DTC” transfer; you’ll need the charity’s receiving DTC “address” too.
2. Lots of fishing organizations hold auctions/raffles and are glad to receive good quality gear suitable to their events. Request an itemized receipt; you determine and claim the fair-market-value as a charitable deduction.
Beyond year’s end, have you considered including a fish/fishing group in you estate plan? Inclusion in a will or trust usually comes to mind first. However, you can easily plan a gift to charity via a beneficiary designation on many kinds of accounts such as - retirement plans, IRA’s, brokerage accounts, life insurance, bank accounts, and annuities. Simple to do and no attorney required. You can’t take it with you, so after providing for your family, why not leave a legacy to fish and fishing?
I’ve given just the briefest descriptions so feel free to PM me for specific questions. Not wanting this thread to get sidetracked into “which group is best?! - I’ve purposely not listed any organizations. Safe to say, there’s one out there that promotes your values.