The Community Foundation of Utah

Love UT Give UT is really taking off. Almost 200 causes from across the state are already on board. Our web site looks great, thanks to Pam Browers. And now - we have the incredible support of UBS. Our deepest, (REALLY deep) thanks go to Karen Sheperd, Chair of the CRA Board, Kathy Hale and Jan Bergeson of UBS. What wonderful women, and what a terrific company. I know they  are as excited about Love UT Give UT as we are! Now lets raise a lot of money for Utah charities and give them a real return on their investment!

After showing signs of rebounding in 2011, charitable giving by America's billionaires slowed in 2012, the Chronicle of Philanthropy reports.

While the fifteen largest gifts announced by U.S. philanthropists in 2012 totaled nearly $5.1 billion, $3 billion of the total was accounted for by Warren Buffett's gifts of Berkshire Hathaway stock to the foundations run by his three children. Without those gifts, the 2012 total would have been $2.1 billion — far short of the $2.6 billion tallied in 2011.

The second largest gift after Buffett's was Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg's commitment of Facebook stock worth an estimated $500 million to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation. Thirteen of the largest commitments announced in 2012 (including Buffett's) were for at least $100 million, three more than in 2011 and seven more than in 2010. The total for the largest gifts, however, has yet to recover from the effects of the recession, falling from $8 billion in 2008 — half of that from a $4.5 billion bequest from inventor James LeVoy Sorenson — to $2.7 billion in 2009 and $1.4 billion in 2010.

Thanks to the Council on Foundations for this list of key provisions and how it will impact charitable deductions

KEY PROVISIONS

• The charitable deduction will continue to be coupled with an individual's or household's corresponding tax rate. In other words, there is no cap on charitable deductions.
• The tax rate will be increased to 39.6 percent for individuals making more than $400,000 a year and households making more than $450,000. The previous rate for those earners was 35 percent.
• The estate tax will have a $10 million exemption for couples, $5 million for individuals, and a top tax rate of 40 percent. 
• Additional benefits for the long-term unemployed are extended through the end of 2013. Those benefits expired this past Friday.
• A two-month delay of the sequestration cuts.
• The bill extends the IRA charitable rollover through December 31, 2013. This provision permits tax-free distributions to an eligible charity from an IRA held by someone age 70½ or older of up to $100,000 per taxpayer, per taxable year. The provision includes two transition rules to allow donors to make 2012 contributions. First, the extension allows individuals who received an IRA distribution in December 2012 to elect to count that distribution (or a portion thereof) as a 2012 IRA charitable rollover if the individual transfers the amount in cash before February 1, 2013, to an eligible charity. Additionally, the extension allows donors to make distributions directly to eligible charities before February 1, 2013, and elect to have such distributions treated as qualified charitable distributions in 2012. This change may be of particular benefit to donors who would like to take advantage of the rollover in both 2012 and 2013.
• The legislation did not prevent a temporary reduction in the Social Security payroll tax from expiring on Monday, December 31. Therefore, the workers’ share of the Social Security payroll tax that had been lowered from 6.2 percent to 4.2 percent for the past two years will return to 6.2 percent.

PEASE LIMITATION ON ITEMIZED DEDUCTIONS

In 2013, itemized deductions for higher income taxpayers will be reduced by the lesser of (1) 3 percent of the amount by which the taxpayer’s income exceeds $250,000 for individual filers, $275,000 for heads of households, or $300,000 for married couples filing jointly (these amounts are adjusted annually for inflation) or (2) 80 percent of the value of the taxpayer’s itemized deductions.  This reduction of itemized deductions is referred to as the Pease Limitation.

An example of the Pease Limitation’s Impact:
In 2013, a married couple filing jointly has $500,000 in adjusted gross income (AGI) and claims $50,000 in itemized deductions. Under the newly passed American Taxpayer Relief Act, the threshold for the Pease Limitation is now $300,000. Thus, the couple’s itemized deductions would be reduced by 3 percent of the amount of their AGI that exceeds $300,000 (which is $200,000). The couple can only claim itemized deductions of $44,000. Without the Pease Limitation, the couple could claim itemized deductions of $50,000.  

The couple’s itemized deductions will be reduced by the lesser of $6,000 or 80 percent of the itemized deductions, which in this example is $6,000. Thus, the couple’s itemized deductions will be reduced from $50,000 to $44,000.

Prompted by on-again off-again fiscal negotiations in Washington that include possible changes to the deduction for charitable giving, some high-net-worth donors are "paying forward" their charitable donations to take advantage of the deduction in its existing form, the Wall Street Journal reports.

The Community Foundation has now entered in to 4 impact investments. Here is a good article from the NY Times describing benefits of this approach.

When the W. K. Kellogg Foundation set aside $100 million in 2007 to invest in companies that could produce both social and financial benefits, it was considered revolutionary. Historically, major foundations had used mainly stocks, bonds, real estate and other traditional asset classes to build their endowments.

Now, such investments are increasingly common — and profitable.

Created to inspire excellence in nonprofit management and governance, increase dialogue and cooperation among nonprofits and enhance organizational capacity across the intermountain region.

“The classes are very informative, the instructors excellent, and the networking with other non-profit professionals is helpful (you learn that everyone deals with similar problems in their organizations—you are not alone and can help one another).”  - Lindsie Smith, Development and Marketing Director, Discovery Gateway

“Honestly, this is the best affordable, locally available practical training
for working adults in the world of nonprofit training to truly enhance their
management knowledge and skills; no excuses even scholarships are available!” – Ghulam Hasnain, ED, SALAAM

Applications taken online now until August 24^th, 2012 for Fall term.  Financial assistance available.  To apply, visit nonprofitacademy.utah.edu.  For more information, contact us at 801.585.1780.

Lots of articles in national journals about the impact of the 'fiscal cliff' on year end giving and tax planning.

• The WSJ reports "Tax uncertainty in Washington is setting off a mad scramble among wealthy taxpayers and charities to maximize donations before the end of the year." 
• The New York Times reports on the onslaught of nonprofit leaders defending charitable deductions in the halls of Washington.

Some good news! Charities received 61 percent more in online gifts Thanksgiving week than they did during the same days in 2011, according to Network for Good data.

The Community Foundation of Utah has award The Steven Magleby Memorial Law Student Fellowship Fund to Laura Neilson, a third year law student at the S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah. Established in 2000, the monetary award recognizes an outstanding Law student who demonstrates a devotion to the rights of people with disabilities.

Steven Magleby was a graduate of the University of Utah College of Law who devoted much of his professional life to defending and advocating for the rights of people with disabilities. He served for many years as a Trustee of the Disability Law Center, where he mentored and set a high standard for legal advocates and attorneys in the disability rights movement.

Awardee Laura Nielson was born and raised in Utah and completed her undergraduate degree in Strategic Communications with an emphasis in Conflict and Argumentation.  She will graduate the S.J. Quinney College of Law this May, and plans to work in the area of Health Law policy reform to better meet the needs of individuals with disabilities.

“Laura's service as a legislative intern with the Utah Autism Coalition and as a clerk working for clients who had become disabled have helped her develop important career goals.  In both settings she has been concerned with the financial impact of having a person with a disability in the family and she wants to emphasize health law policy reform in her practice” reports Professor Linda F. Smith, Director of the Clinical Program at the S.J. Quinney College of Law..

For further information about the scholarship, contact: Professor Linda Smith at the College of Law at (801) 581-4077 or Kay Shelton at (801) 585-7703 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

$595,642 dollars raised in 24 hours by 2,689  Park-ites. Now that is somethign to aspite to! Congrtualtions to Trisha, Katie and the Board of the Park City Foundation.

Holy smokes... check it out!