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Together, We Can Strengthen Adirondack Communities

When giving back is a priority for your clients, working with a community foundation can be helpful for a variety of reasons. Alongside your expertise as a professional advisor, we keep a pulse on giving trends and the best ways to structure tax-wise charitable gifts from year-to-year,  given changes in legislation and markets – and if we don’t know an answer about potentially complicated gift scenarios, we have access to knowledgeable partners that can get us answers quickly.

Whether you’re a CPA exploring the advantages of bunching when starting a donor advised fund, a lawyer working on an estate plan for the future, or a financial advisor helping to compare the difference between setting up a commercial gift fund versus a fund at a community foundation, we can help you weigh various options and paths to ensure that you’re helping your clients make the most informed decisions possible so they can help build an enduring legacy for the Adirondacks.  

5 Reasons to Work WithAdirondack Foundation...

  1. Trusted Partners, Local Roots

    We are the only community foundation serving the entire Adirondacks, working to benefit all communities across the region. 

  2. Giving Made Easy

    We’re here to help your clients realize their charitable goals and streamline their giving to the organizations and causes that matter most to them. 

  3. Philanthropy Specialists

    Our staff and board’s local knowledge and connections ensure we stay current on issues and community needs.

  4. Administrative Work, Due Diligence

    We work with your client to make granting to Adirondack organizations easy and handle the back-office work. 

  5. Putting Your Clients First

    We honor donor intent in perpetuity. Should the unforeseen occur, the Foundation can ensure the donor’s original intention is maintained.  
     

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    Finances + Investments

    Gather information about our financial and investment strategies for your clients, so they can feel good about our ability to meet philanthropic wishes now and community needs in the future.

    Learn More
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    Ways to Give

    Learn how your clients can reduce their capital gains tax and increase their charitable giving through appreciated securities and other tax-wise ways to give. 

    Explore Ways to Give
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    Sample Bequest Language

    Review our sample language for consideration to include in your clients’ bequests – from leaving unrestricted gifts to the Foundation or adding to an existing fund, there are numerous options to explore. 

    Review Sample Language
  1. Your client wants to sell appreciated property but is concerned about capital gains taxes. Giving all or part of the asset to charity can not only eliminate or reduce capital gains taxes and potentially replace less efficient charitable giving, it can continue or begin to provide lifelong income, in addition to feeling good about supporting a nonprofit organization they love. 
  2. They’d like to give some to a charity but aren't ready to decide which one(s). Starting a donor advised fund at the Foundation can lock in a tax deduction for the current year and allow as much time as needed to choose the causes they want to support in the future.
  3. Your client manages a rental unit that provides needed income, but it's too much work. Donating the rental property to charity and setting up a charitable remainder trust (CRT) can eliminate the capital gains tax, secure lifetime income (perhaps more than from the rental), allow your client to claim a sizable tax deduction, and support a favorite charitable organization. 
  4. Your client has accumulated a large IRA, but his children will only receive 20 or 30 cents on the dollar. Giving the retirement fund to an endowment from which heirs may recommend charitable gifts can reduce estate tax, eliminate income tax on any IRA distributions via Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs), and create a family legacy. In the meantime, other assets can be used for gifts to family members.
  5. How do they want to be remembered? You can suggest looking into starting a fund at the Foundation or leaving a gift to Adirondack Foundation as an alternative to paying too much estate tax and creating an enduring legacy for the place they love.
  6. Your client wants to help a long-time employee (or friend, sibling, or parent). A life-income gift can assure the friend receives a lifetime income – and allows your client to support a favorite organization, school, or community following the friend’s death.
Matt Donahue, Vice President for Philanthropy

Matt Donahue

Vice President for Philanthropy