Clean Water Action and Clean Water Fund are joining with other nonprofits to mobilize a national day of giving. Ordinarily, this event happens in late November or early December but the need for action is too urgent to wait.
#GivingTuesdayNow May 5, 2020, spotlights the work of great 501-c-3 nonprofits like Clean Water Fund.
Donations of all sizes and types quickly add up to make a difference. Clean Water Fund is also encouraging people to get involved by taking one or more online actions to #ProtectCleanWater and by sharing our universal take-action link as widely as possible: www.cleanwater.org/ActNow
What matters most is that you participate, in all the ways that will allow you to have the greatest impact for our water. Here is some more information you can use if you’d like to join us by providing financial support for #GivingTuesdayNow:
MAKE A CASH DONATION, TODAY – For many, that could mean making a donation to Clean Water Fund of any amount online using your credit/debit card, or selecting the e-check option at cleanwater.org/urgent
$300/$600 You can Deduct – Without Itemizing: Did you know that, for 2020 only, every taxpayer can claim a charitable tax deduction of up to $300 (or $600 for joint filers), without having to itemize on your return? Simply document your gifts with canceled checks, receipts or thank-you notes.
GET IT MATCHED – You may be able to double or triple your gift if your employer matches donations to 501-c-3 nonprofits like Clean Water Fund. Just make sure your original donation is to Clean Water Fund, and complete the necessary matching forms from your employer. Let us know how we can help you with this process. Development@CleanWater.org
DONATE BIG – Also for 2020 only, limits on charitable giving have been lifted. Donors who itemize may now claim charitable deductions for cash donations (check, credit/debit, e-check or ACH) totaling up to 100 percent of their Adjusted Gross Income (AGI). Recipient organizations must have 501-c-3 tax exempt status like Clean Water Fund, and all gifts must be documented.
CONSERVE CASH, DONATE STOCK OR GIVE FROM YOUR IRA – If you are of retirement age and have an IRA, you should know that although Required Mandatory Distributions (RMDs) are not required for 2020, using your IRA to make gifts to qualified nonprofits (501-c-3’s like Clean Water Fund), up to $100,000 per year, can offer significant financial advantages for the donor. To donate, you must be age 70 ½ or older as of the date your gift is made, and the donation must be made directly from your IRA account to Clean Water Fund. This online tool can help you initiate your gift and incorporates forms specific to most IRA financial manager firms: cleanwater.org/IRA
Many Clean Water supporters who have held stocks long term will likely own shares in companies or mutual funds which are valued much higher today than when originally purchased, even with current market volatility. When you transfer ownership of your shares to Clean Water Action or Clean Water Fund you get the immediate benefit of avoided capital gains tax. If your gift is to Clean Water Fund it can also count as a charitable contribution for income tax purposes, potentially providing even greater benefit. Either way, we convert your gift to cash and put your donation to work immediately protecting clean water, now and for the future. Contact us, development@cleanwater.org for details on making a stock gift today.
DONOR-ADVISED FUNDS and FOUNDATIONS – If you have a Donor-Advised Fund or family foundation, now is the perfect time to deploy those charitable assets. Clean Water Fund qualifies to receive gifts and grants from most DAFs and foundations. Contact us to initiate your gift or grant today, development@cleanwater.org.
YOUR CLEAN WATER LEGACY – For many people, a gift made by will (a bequest) can be the largest, longest lasting, most impactful gift you can make, even when it is structured as a small percentage of the donor’s estate. Everybody needs a will, but fewer than 1/3 or all Americans have a current legal will. We’re hearing that interest in wills is understandably the highest it’s ever been. If you haven’t written or updated your own will yet, we invite you to get started by using a tool from our partners at FreeWill, which we started making available last June to our members, free of charge, whether or not you intend to plan a Clean Water Legacy Gift. You can use it to prepare a legal will you can print and finalize at home, or to organize or update your plans before sharing them with an attorney. The site is set up so you can accomplish it all in one sitting or work on the project a bit at a time until you’re done. FreeWill.com/CleanWater
Legacy Gift Tip – Wills are very important, and everyone should have one. But you can also support the causes you care about most by completing Beneficiary Designation forms for your investment, life insurance and/or retirement accounts, to include a percentage or set dollar gift to Clean Water Fund or Clean Water Action. You can also do this for Donor Advised Fund (DAF) accounts. Contact us for more information, Legacy@cleanwater.org
FEDERAL EMPLOYEES GIVE GENEROUSLY FOR #GIVING TUESDAY NOW – Federal employees are eligible to participate in a new #GivingTuesdayNow opportunity to make special gifts to my org, Clean Water Fund (#10636) via the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) using the CFC’s online giving platform, mobile app, or regular payroll deduction donation system. The CFC system will allow special one-time gifts and pledges throughout this spring, ending June 30. Clean Water Fund’s CFC ID number is #10636. Contact us with any questions, development@cleanwater.org
