Maximize your impact with giving options that fit your preferences, including stocks, DAFs, and legacy gifts. Read on to explore all the ways you can help support childhood cancer families.
1. Participate in your employee gift-matching program
Some employers offer gift-matching programs, meaning they’ll match the amount of your donation up to a certain amount. This can effectively double your contribution and make more of an impact for families coping with childhood cancer. You can search Charity Navigator’s database to see if your employer offers gift matching, or check with your HR department.
2. Donate stocks
If you’re looking for a tax-savvy way to donate to charity, consider donating shares of appreciated stock. There are many benefits to donating stock, both for you and for Love Bus! In particular, donating stock gives you the opportunity to save on both capital gains taxes and income taxes. And due to these tax savings, your donation can be larger, making your dollar go further than if you were to sell the stock and donate cash.
To donate stock, you’ll fill out a stock transfer form from your brokerage, or the financial institution that manages your stock assets (like Charles Schwab or Fidelity). In the form, you’ll provide information about the stock you want to donate, and information about Lucy's Love Bus. You can fill out the form below and we can send you all the information you need to make it super easy!
3. Create a Donor-Advised Fund (DAF)
A Donor-Advised Fund, or DAF, is an investment account where all the assets you invest go to charity. Anything you contribute to the fund — including cash, stocks, and cryptocurrency — is managed and invested by a sponsoring organization. Your contributions will grow tax-free, and over time you can recommend grants from your fund to qualifying charities - like Lucy's Love Bus!
When you contribute to a DAF, you can qualify for an income tax deduction for the amount you contribute in that tax year. Then, you can choose Love Bus as an organization to support, and choose when those donations should be made. Click here for the Lucy's Love Bus specific link to donation from your Fidelity Charitable, Schwab Charitable, or BNY Mellon hosted DAF or click here to find a community foundation near you to host your DAF!
4. Make Qualified Charitable Distributions from your retirement account
People 70.5 and older can donate funds from their IRA accounts directly to qualifying nonprofits. This type of gift is called a Qualified Charitable Distribution, or QCD.
When you reach 73 years of age, you’re required to start making withdrawals from your pre-tax retirement accounts, including your 401(k)s and IRAs. The minimum dollar amount you must withdraw each year is called your Required Minimum Distribution (RMD). Any time you withdraw money from your pre-tax retirement account, it’s considered taxable income and will be taxed according to your income bracket. This includes money you have to withdraw as part of your RMD. That’s where QCDs come in.
Making a donation as a QCD counts towards “withdrawing” your RMD for the year. And the amount of your donation isn’t counted toward your taxable income, which may help you save on income tax! To make a QCD, you’ll have to fill out an IRA Charitable Distribution Form and submit it to your IRA custodian (the institution that manages your account). All you need is the Lucy's Love Bus EIN (#20-4036256) and your account information for the form - easy peasy!
5. Leave a bequest to Lucy's Love Bus in your will
There are ways you can make an impact for childhood cancer families that extends beyond your lifetime; one of these is to leave a legacy gift, by naming Lucy's Love Bus as a beneficiary in your last will and testament, for a specific gift amount or percentage.
A big benefit of leaving a gift in your will is that it will make a huge difference without having any financial impact on you during your lifetime. You can name a charity in your will in three simple steps. If you don’t have a will, you can make one for free in just 20 minutes using FreeWill’s online will-maker.
As a small organization, each and every gift - of every type - makes a HUGE impact in our ability to continuously support New England childhood cancer families. If you are interested in learning more about these additional ways to give, we are here to help! Please fill out the form below with questions, or to let us know if you plan to make a gift in one of these ways! You can also reach out directly to our Director of Development, Stephanie Moran, at stephanie@lucyslovebus.org.
THANK YOU for thinking of Lucy's Love Bus in your giving plan!
