As a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, Friends of Notre-Dame de Paris relies on the generosity of our amazing community to help us fulfill our mission: to rebuild and restore Notre-Dame Cathedral.
Aside from direct cash contributions and monthly giving, there are so many ways you can support Friends of Notre-Dame de Paris and maximize your gift for your personal financial goals.
Discover a deep dive into five of our favorites below and learn more about all the ways you can support here.
Donor Advised Funds
A donor advised fund (DAF) is a private fund created for the purpose of managing charitable donations on behalf of an organization, family, or individual. It allows donors to make a charitable contribution, receive an immediate tax deduction and then recommend grants from the fund over time.
To establish a DAF, you make an irrevocable contribution of personal assets—which could include cash, stock, real estate and more. When you contribute to your DAF, you may be eligible to claim an itemized tax deduction for federal and/or state income tax purposes. The amount of the deduction will depend on several factors, including the type of asset donated and how long you have owned it. This arrangement allows you to plan your gift so that you can take the tax deduction when it makes sense for you and to recommend grants to your favorite charitable organizations at any point in the future.
Perhaps the biggest advantage of DAFs lies in the immediate tax benefits. Whether you choose to disburse the assets to an approved charity immediately after contributing to the fund or let the assets grow tax-free, you still receive a tax benefit immediately. Additionally, you also receive full control over how the account is managed.
Another huge benefit is that DAFs can be established with non-cash assets. This means that you can write off the fair market value of the stock, which may be larger than your original cash basis and can prevent you from paying capital gains tax.
And, through your DAF gift, you join the Friends of Notre-Dame de Paris community and take part in this historic moment to rebuild Notre-Dame Cathedral!
Qualified Charitable Distributions
A Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) is a direct transfer of funds from your Individual Retirement Account (IRA) to a qualified charity. People with IRAs must take required minimum distributions each year beginning at age 70½—even if they don’t need or want the funds. That same required minimum distribution increases the IRA holder’s total taxable income. A QCD allows you to donate up to $100,000 to one or more charities directly from a taxable IRA, instead of taking their required minimum distributions. As a result, you may avoid being pushed into higher income tax brackets and prevent phaseouts of other tax deductions.
In addition, because QCDs reduce the balance of the IRA, they may reduce required minimum distributions in future years. QCDs are also not counted toward the maximum amounts deductible for individuals who itemize their giving on their taxes—the $100,000 can be above and beyond those limits. For these reasons, a QCD can potentially enable a donor to give a larger charitable gift than they could if they just donated cash or other assets.
Qualified charitable distributions are made directly to the eligible charity from a traditional IRA, inherited IRA, inactive Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) plan and inactive Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees (SIMPLE) IRAs.
The money is a direct transfer that never passes through the hands of the IRA holder. Instead, the IRA custodian can either send a check directly to the charity or the account owner, who then hands it over to the charity. For a QCD to count toward your minimum annual IRA distribution, it must be made by the same deadline as a normal distribution, which is usually Dec. 31.
Stock Gifts
Did you know that donating appreciated stock is one of the easiest ways to give more to causes you care about? Compared with donating cash or selling your appreciated securities and contributing the after-tax proceeds, you may be able to automatically increase your gift and your tax deduction by donating long-term appreciated securities, including stock, bonds, or mutual funds, directly to charity.
Making a stock gift is a little more complicated than taking out your checkbook, however. The first step is to contact the charity receiving your donation. For Friends of Notre-Dame de Paris, this information can be found here. Next, talk to your financial institution to find out what they need to get the shares transferred. Usually, the instructions we provide you will be enough for your brokerage company to get its side of the process done. You’ll also likely have to complete some paperwork to authorize the stock donation.
The end of the year is a very busy time for brokerage companies to handle stock gifts. Many financial institutions have deadlines well before Dec. 31 to request charitable stock gifts, so don’t wait until the last minute!
Cryptocurrency
You can support the rebuilding and restoration of Notre-Dame Cathedral by giving cryptocurrency. Similar to stock donations, cryptocurrency offers a more tax efficient way to donate because cryptocurrency is classified as property. When you donate crypto, you receive a tax deduction for the fair market value of the crypto, and avoid the capital gains tax that you would have incurred if you sold the crypto and then donated to Friends of Notre-Dame de Paris. This can often mean a 20-30%+ larger donation and deduction. Cryptocurrency donations have a lot of other benefits for both you and Friends of Notre-Dame de Paris:
- Cryptocurrency donations are more transparent, faster, and more cost-effective than conventional currencies. Because the blockchain ledger is public, the flow of money is very transparent and doesn’t require third parties to intervene and monitor transactions. This also reduces costs, both in terms of fees and time.
- Cryptocurrency donations get more money in the hands of the nonprofit. Donations come with low processing fees — if any at all — for all parties involved. This ensures more of your donation goes towards rebuilding and restoring Notre-Dame Cathedral. When filing our taxes, we classify the donation as a non-cash gift.
- Anonymous donations are still possible, which helps expand the donor base for various causes. While there is accountability in the flow of money with the public ledger, it is not necessarily tied to personal identification.
- International donations are easier to accept. Without agencies handling the flow of cryptocurrency, you can choose to accept donations from around the world and not face exchange fees and banking hold-ups while the funds are being reviewed.
Click here to learn more about cryptocurrency donations or to donate crypto to Friends of Notre-Dame de Paris.
Planned Giving
Planned Giving (sometimes called Gift Planning or Legacy Giving), is any major gift, made in a lifetime or at death as part of your overall financial and/or estate planning. These include gifts of equity, life insurance, real estate, personal property, or cash. When you leave a gift to Friends of Notre-Dame de Paris in your will or estate plans, you ensure that Notre-Dame Cathedral will be preserved for future generations to discover and find joy in this special place.
Planned gifts offer you a variety of benefits, such as:
- Substantial tax savings especially on appreciated properties and securities; planned gifts can reduce income tax and avoid capital gains tax.
- Your gift costs nothing to you now, but will help ensure the health of Friends of Notre-Dame de Paris for the future.
- Your gift may provide tax savings or help reduce the tax burden for your heirs.
- You can determine how your gift is spent, as well as change your mind or modify your gift if circumstances change.
Finding your preferred method of giving depends on what’s right for you and fits best with your overall goals. For additional information on all of the giving options accepted by Friends of Notre-Dame de Paris, please contact us at friends@notredamedeparis.fr or visit our planned giving page.
And of course, you can support Friends of Notre-Dame de Paris by signing up for our newsletter, following us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram and telling your friends about us and our work.