All of us feel the urge to help one another in these pandemic days. Our local Education Foundation has relied on one fundraiser a year, E.A.T.S., and now with COVID-19, we cannot have this well-attended community event held every March. We can’t ask our restaurants or businesses to donate food or silent auction items when they’ve struggled financially. We can’t ask our community to gather for the event, given the pandemic and the way COVID-19 is transmitted. Recently the board for the Education Foundation had its monthly meeting (via Zoom) and developed a new policy to allow us to get donations in new, innovative ways.
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, passed last March right after E.A.T.S. 2020, allows taxpayers taking the standard deduction to claim up to $300 in charitable deductions. To qualify, you must give money to a 501(c) (3) non profit–like the Cook County SChools Education Foundation. If you send us a check for that donation, we will provide you a record or receipt.
If you are age 70 ½ or older, you are eligible for a great tax break. You can give directly from a traditional IRA to a 501(c) (3) charity–like the Cook County Schools Education Foundation — without having to declare that amount as taxable income, as you would with a regular IRA withdrawal. Make sure that checks are not made out to you, but to the Cook County Schools ISD 166 Education Foundation (which is not a donor-advised fund).
You can also give assets. Instead of making a cash donation, offer to make your gift in the form of shares of stock or mutual funds that have risen in value since you’ve owned them. If you have held the shares for at least one year, you can give them away without having to pay a tax on any capital gains.
Also, you can amass your gifts. If your potential deductions like mortgage interest and medical care come close to the standard deduction, you can make extra charitable gifts this year (offsetting them with smaller donations next year) and get a larger tax break by itemizing.
Finally, if you are well off enough to have significant savings and be in a position to itemize, you get a CARES Act break, too. For 2020 only, you can deduct cash contributions up to 100 percent of your adjusted gross income, instead of the prior 60 percent limit. Terrible 2020 could be turned into your year to make a grand gesture to the Education Foundation!
How can you help us? Our mission is to offer unique experiences for students through innovative instruction and co-curricular programs which are unable to be funded by the school district. Creative and innovative programs, activities and equipment that supplement and enhance the educational process are our primary focus. Contribute today to create a brighter future for our students tomorrow! Contributions may be sent to the following address: Cook County School District 166 Education Foundation, Douglas Sanders, Treasurer, P.O. Box 1117, Grand Marais, MN 55604-1117.
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