Charitable Gifts of Real Property

The Foundation receives hundreds of gifts each year and they seem to run in patterns.  Most large gifts are made by stock, but we’ve recently had more activity with property gifts. Two gifts have been completed and a third will happen next week. The first gift was of residential property.  The owners had rented it out for years, so the value had increased while the basis had decreased.  Because the owners are charitable, they gifted a part of the ownership to the Foundation, with the avoidance of capital gains combined with the charitable gift deduction; this offset the capital gains they would have paid without making this gift.  The house was sold with the Community Foundation included as an owner.  The proceeds are now in a charitable donor advised fund at the Foundation and will be granted out per the donor’s recommendations. The second gift was of commercial property.  Due to how it was held (in a “C” corp), and because the corporation was terminating, this gift was particularly attractive to avoid taxation.  The gift was received to the Foundation and listed for sale.  We have received an attractive offer and will soon have a pending sale.  When the property sells, the proceeds will go into a donor advised fund for the donors to grant out.  In this case the entire property was contributed, providing a significant deduction; the Foundation is handling all aspects of the sale. The third gift is a home in California.  This is a particularly attractive asset for the donors to give because they avoid the significant capital gains tax in California as well as the federal gains tax.  Many charities will not receive gifts of property from outside Nevada, but our Foundation is happy to work with donors on all gifts.  And, the charitable proceeds from these gifts benefit our region. While we typically sell properties we receive that are developed, we are happy to hold gifts of undeveloped land.  We have such assets in Nevada, Oregon, and New Mexico and, per the donors’ wishes, are holding those assets until such time as we can receive full value upon sale.  Unlike developed properties that have significant carrying costs including insurance and property taxes on the improvements, property taxes on raw land are very small and our general insurance policy covers such assets.  You may want to look through the Community Foundation of Western Nevada Gift Acceptance Policy to learn more about how we can make a gift of real estate work for you or your client. Time is running out for a 2014 property gift. Last year we received a wonderful call from an attorney whose clients wished to make a contribution of land prior to the end of the year.  But, we received this call in late December and couldn’t complete our due diligence in time to accept this gift.  We can move quickly but not that quickly.  As we reach the first week of December, we can still make property gifts happen this year but that window is closing quickly.  If you or a client would like to consider such a gift, which may be a partial interest in a property, please let me know.  We connect people who care with causes that matter. Chris Askin, President & CEO