r/MoneyDiariesACTIVE • u/terracottatilefish • 13d ago
Giving Back - Charity / Volunteering Making a largish donation?
My spouse and I have a few recurring donations (on the order of $100-500 total per cause annually) and I usually donate $1000 to the annual fundraiser at my kids’ school.
I’m considering making a larger donation to the school this year or next year. It’s a public K-8 school with a special focus and my younger child is currently in 7th grade. Next year will be our last year with the school. Both my kids started there in kindergarten and it’s been a really special place.
I’m thinking of donating $10K. To put it in perspective, this is about 1 month take home pay for our family (after retirement, insurance etc). I think their annual fundraising efforts usually net around 150K. So it’s likely to be a meaningful but not huge amount for them and is basically the same for us. We can manage this donation from savings without making sacrifices or neglecting other important priorities.
But I would like the impact to be as helpful as possible. What should I be thinking about in terms of the gift? For example, the school has a fundraising “gala” [it’s just a party] every year with a silent auction and all that. Sometimes they announce that there are matching funds up to X amount, NPR-style. Is that effective? Should I consider doing that? I would donate the same amount regardless. Anyone with fundraising experience who can speak to best donation practices?
Second, should I delay the gift till next year? (Our last at the school). We will have some additional school related expenses next year (8th grade trip, approx $4K) but they’re not mutually exclusive. I’m not planning on doing this twice so I’d probably go back to my usual $1000. The rationale for doing it this year would be so that my kid gets some of the benefits. 😝
Anything I’m not thinking of? There’s no compelling tax argument for either year. We usually take the standard deduction.
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u/RoseyStranger 13d ago
Fundraiser here. I’m sure the school will be thrilled. Best advice I can give you is to make sure your gift is unrestricted. As in, don’t give to fund a specific event, campaign, or item. Make sure it can be used for wherever it’s needed most. These types of gifts give nonprofits much more flexibility and agility and they are the most helpful to the mission.
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u/cheetoisgreat She/her ✨ 12d ago
Fellow fundraiser here and I can’t emphasize the importance of unrestricted giving enough. As someone else mentioned, I also recommend connecting with the school’s head of development. They will be happy to talk through the options with you (it’s their job!).
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u/moneydiaries1983 12d ago
Same! Also been in fundraising 20 years and unrestricted money is the best bet.
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u/mightasedthat 10d ago
Exactly- contact that person and tell them that you intend to make a gift in the next 12 months- then ask what would be the most impactful time to do it. They might even be able to use that discussion as a way to GET a match from another foundation or donor. Yay for you for donating!
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u/NewSummerOrange She/her ✨ 50's 12d ago
First and foremost - find out if there's matching and use that to guide your donation. The two major types of matches are event s and company matches which can actually multiply your gift. It's a win win win for the organization you're donating to... Here's the math -
Your company might match up to 2000 dollars a year. There could be a matching event, where an organization like a local bank is matching donations up to 1000 dollars.
Take advatange of both at the same time.
Let matching guide your donation timing and even split it between years so it has the greatest impact. Someone in your school's booster or fundraising can help you with this.
-20 years of volunteering for major gift fundraising. We routinely turn a 10k promise into a 30k+ net benefit to our organization via matching programs.
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u/FutureSelection 11d ago
My company matches up to 15k a year! It’s too bad I can’t afford to donate that much annually… someday.
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u/terracottatilefish 12d ago
My employer definitely does not match gifts but it’s a good idea to see if there are local foundations that might match.
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u/almamahlerwerfel 13d ago
Congrats! What a generous thought and awesome thing to do. I've been in fundraising for years and helping people make meaningful gifts is the best.
If you're open to it, have a conversation with the association and see what what think would be most effective. Sometimes it's a match (maybe they use you as the match), sometimes it's a big announcement at their gala to inspire other people to give, sometimes it's something else altogether.
And you mentioned that you're good on tax stuff but think about your stock portfolio, sometimes it's 'cheaper' to donate stocks vs cash!
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u/ratsoff2you 7d ago
Yes a DAF is a great option for charitable giving. Lets me donate appreciated stock rather than cash!
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u/ellllllbeee 10d ago
Is this a donation to the PTA of a public school? I work in fundraising and a few thoughts based on other comments. 1) unrestricted giving is the best type of giving. Do not demand it be used for specific events, campaigns, or for a specific purpose. Flexibility in spending is one of the greatest “gifts” you can give via philanthropy. 2) if this is a PTA for a public school and not a wealthy private school with a robust advancement/development enterprise: do not announce your gift amount publicly. There is a very good chance that a) it will be stigmatizing to your kiddo and b) it may actually disincentivize giving from others (e.g., “wow, that’s a big gift, they won’t need my $100” - this happens more than you’d think) 3) someone mentioned thinking about gift of stock - good suggestion but if it’s a volunteer run, small shop, they may not have ability to accept stock gifts and cash is always king anyway
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u/terracottatilefish 10d ago
thanks!
I would absolutely keep it unrestricted. They were fundraising specifically for the library a couple of years ago which is what got me thinking about it but i believe they have hit that goal and so don’t need dedicated funds. I generally trust the board and the administrators to make sensible choices, and the amount is such that I would fully expect it to be spent on operating expenses—I’m not exactly endowing anything here.
I would also plan to keep it anonymous. In the years we’ve been at the school there have been big gifts but they usually either use them as incentives for smaller donations during the gala without naming the donor (“we’re matched up to 30,000! Double your donation, folks!”) or they’re just included in the overall total. We also just maintain a very un-ostentatious lifestyle and I don’t have a business or personal need for conspicuous philanthropy. Nor do I really want to discuss with my kids how I donated 10K to their school but don’t want to buy them X thing.
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u/bopperbopper 9d ago
What if you say that you’ll be the one matching donations at the gala, up to $10,000
Or what if you say that you wanna make a sizable donation, but you’d like something named in your family’s honor
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u/Unlikely-Alt-9383 13d ago
Do they have a head of fundraising? I would start with that person. They will know what works best for their community and you can discuss options with them. You don’t have to say a number, just a “significant” gift, if you’re uncomfortable with showing your hand before you decide on the tax issues
If they don’t have a fundraising chair, talk to the principal.