Donor Advised Funds, Stock, QCDs, and Planned Giving: Non-Cash Donations to Charities and Nonprofits 

There are many ways to donate to a charity or nonprofit like The Lift Garage, including donor-advised funds, stock donations, qualified charitable distributions, planned giving/bequests, and more. We know that it can be confusing to determine the best way to make an impact on the causes you care about, but we’re here to help!  

Learning about all of these non-cash options for donating to a charity or nonprofit can help you decide how to have the biggest impact. We want you to know how to choose what charitable donation vehicle is right for you when you make a gift to support a cause like The Lift Garage! The Lift Garage accepts gifts in all of the ways listed below, because we want you to give in the way that makes sense for you. As with any financial decision, please consult with your financial advisor or tax professional to determine what is best for your specific financial situation. 

Donations to The Lift Garage support Minnesota’s only low-cost auto repair shop. At The Lift Garage, we provide free and honest advice to our customers through full inspections of their vehicles, during which we identify safety and drivability repairs. Following the inspection, we provide repairs at just $25 an hour for labor and a 7.5% markup on parts. Repairs at our shop come out to be about 1/3 of the market rate. This translates to The Lift Garage customers paying on average $375 for car repairs, compared to a $1,250 bill at a shop down the street. We also offer wraparound services including Express Services, Mobile Van Inspections, Pre-Purchase Inspections, and our Car Care Class! Our work is possible because of generous donors who support our work through charitable donations!  

Donor–advised funds are an increasingly popular way to donate to charities or nonprofits, and they could be a great way for you to make the biggest impact with your charitable giving! The Lift Garage accepts gifts from donor-advised funds to support our work providing low-cost car repair. Gifts from donor-advised funds have an enormous impact on our work and help support our vision of Safe Cars, Secure Lives for our customers and communities.  

Donor-advised funds (DAFs) are investment accounts set up just for supporting charities and nonprofits. Donor-advised funds are established at public charities, such as The Minneapolis Foundation, the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation, DAFgiving360 by Charles Schwab, or Vanguard Charitable. These public charities are called the “sponsoring organization,” and they manage and administer these DAF accounts.  

Donor-advised funds are simple to set up and have a lot of benefits to the donor! They allow you to make charitable contributions to the fund and receive an immediate tax deduction for your contribution. Then, you can recommend grants from the donor-advised fund over time, not just in the year that you made the contribution! Until they are distributed to a nonprofit or charity of your choice, the funds are invested by the sponsoring organization. Because the money is invested, while past results are not indicative of future results, they usually continue to grow in the account until they are given to a charity or nonprofit. The sponsoring organization will provide options for investment, so consult with your financial advisor to make the best decision for your specific financial situation.  

When you contribute to a donor-advised fund, that gift is irrevocable. This means that you cannot take it back out of the fund, and it can only be used for donations to the causes you love! The assets technically belong to the sponsoring organization, but you get to say how the money is donated to organizations. The sponsoring organization checks that the gift is going to a qualified charity that is in good standing with the IRS and takes care of sending out the money.  

Recently, GoFundMe Pro, through which The Lift Garage manages our online giving, established Giving Funds, which are donor-advised funds sponsored through GoFundMe. These funds are easy to open and are designed to be a very accessible way to open a donor-advised fund. When you open a Giving Fund through GoFundMe, you can save The Lift Garage as one of your favorite nonprofits! This makes it easy to support our low-cost car repair and helps our customers focus on supporting their families, rather than stressing about whether their vehicles will get them where they need to go. 

There are so many ways to make a tax-deductible contribution to a donor-advised fund. Most sponsoring organizations require you to fund your DAF with at least a specified minimum amount of assets. But after you get your DAF set up, you can make additional contributions at any time and at any amount!  

Your contributions can take many forms, including:  

• Cash 
• Credit card gifts 
• Exchange traded funds 
• Mutual Funds 
• Publicly traded, restricted, or control securities 
• Distributions from a retirement account 
• Transfers from an existing foundation or another DAF 
• Real Estate 
• Fine art and collectibles  
• Cryptocurrency  

Your sponsoring organization may also accept other kinds of contributions; they can offer more guidance on how to contribute to your DAF! 

However you choose to contribute, your donor-advised fund allows you to make generous contributions to organizations like The Lift Garage. When you donate to The Lift Garage through a DAF, your gift goes directly to providing low-cost car repair to Minnesotans and keeping us all safer on the roads! When our customers have access to affordable car repair, they focus on supporting their families and keeping others safe, rather than worrying about their car breaking down or becoming unsafe. We are profoundly grateful for the support of our community and donors for helping to make this work possible!  

When you have decided to give money out of your DAF, let your sponsoring organization know! This is usually referred to as “recommending a grant” from your DAF. Each sponsoring organization will have their own way to start this process, but it can usually be done online or through a form.  

Donor-advised funds have become a popular way to manage charitable giving, in large part because there are many benefits to giving through a DAF!  

Some of the benefits include:  

• Philanthropic good: DAF gifts are a powerful way to support charities and nonprofits like The Lift Garage. When you make a DAF donation to The Lift, your gift helps keep everyone safer on the roads and supports our vision of Safe Cars, Secure Lives. Your generosity also has a profound impact on our customers and helps ensure that they do not have to decide between everyday essentials, like buying groceries or paying for car repairs. 

• Tax benefits: When you contribute to a DAF, you receive immediate tax deductions for the contribution. This means that no matter when the money is sent to a charity or nonprofit, you receive the tax deduction in the year that you put the money into your DAF. Many donors love this way to maximize the tax benefits of charitable giving. Consult your tax advisor for specific guidance on your financial situation. 

• Fund growth: When you make contributions to a DAF, the money is invested and may grow over time (though fund growth cannot be guaranteed, and past results are not indicative of future results). This means you may end up with more money to donate to the causes you care about! 

• Strategy Building: When you have a DAF, you can put money into the account, receive the tax benefits, and let the funds grow, while still taking the time to decide exactly what you want your donation strategy to be. Maybe you want to make small gifts to many organizations or maximize your impact on one organization by making a larger gift! 

• Sponsoring Organization Benefits: DAFs are managed by a sponsoring organization, who will take care of some of the more complex parts of managing the account. They do due diligence to make sure that the nonprofit you have chosen is legitimate and in good standing with the IRS. They also ensure that the gift is made efficiently, so that the charity receives your generous gift as quickly as possible.  

In order to best take advantage of the tax benefits of a DAF, we recommend that you consult with your tax advisor. They can make recommendations based on your specific financial situation and future dreams.  

The Lift Garage proudly accepts gifts from DAFs! We are a 501(c)(3) organization, and our EIN number is 45-4444338. 

The Lift Garage should appear in your sponsoring organization’s grant recommendation portal, but we are happy to provide any additional information you need to make a gift. Please contact our director of development and communications, Jesi, with any questions. You can also view our profile on GuideStar by Candid, a well-respected nonprofit database.  

Making a donation to The Lift Garage from your DAF helps our customers maintain their vehicles, ensuring that they remain a viable investment and can provide safe and secure transport!  

Qualified charitable distributions (QCDs) are a meaningful way for you to have an impact on charities and nonprofits like The Lift Garage, while ensuring that you meet your required minimum distribution (RMD) from your retirement accounts!  

The Lift Garage proudly accepts qualified charitable distributions. We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and our EIN is 45-4444338. When you make a QCD to The Lift Garage, you support not just low-cost car repair in our shop, but also our wrap-around programs like Express Services, Mobile Van Inspections, Pre-Purchase Inspections, and our Car Care Class! These programs all work together to help our customers who rely on their cars to run errands, maintain their mental health, and get their family members to work, school, and medical appointments – which keeps their lives running smoothly. 

Qualified charitable distributions (QCD) are tax-free transfers of funds from your individual retirement account (IRA) to a charity or nonprofit, like The Lift Garage!  

Anyone with an IRA has required minimum distributions (RMD) from that IRA beginning at age 73. This means that even if you don’t need or what the money yourself, you have to take it out of the account! If the RMD goes to you, it increases your taxable income, potentially increasing the amount of taxes that you owe that year.  

QCDs allow you to fulfill the RMD requirements through a donation to a charity or nonprofit—without increasing your taxable income! There are limits, however. QCDs are limited to $108,000 per year and are only available for IRA holders age 70 1/2 or older. For IRA holders over the age of 73, the QCD can count toward your federally mandated RMD. 

Qualified charitable distributions (QCDs) go from your IRA to the nonprofit, and you never have the money in your own hands. The custodian—the company or organization through which you have your IRA— will send a wire transfer or a check to the charity or nonprofit. Each IRA custodian will have their own process for getting a QCD started. You can check out your account for information on initiating a donation to a charity or nonprofit of your choice. 

Want to make a QCD gift to The Lift Garage? We happily accept QCDs and are a 501(c)(3) organization. Donations to The Lift through QCDs allow us to help as many Minnesotans as possible. Access to low-cost car repair can make a profound difference for our customers, ensuring they’re not choosing between repairing their cars and getting groceries or paying rent.  

Qualified charitable distributions (QCD) have many benefits to those making them, in addition to having a significant impact on the receiving charity or nonprofit! When you make a QCD to The Lift Garage, you help our customers nurture their self-determination, rather than worrying about making ends meet.  

Some of the benefits of making a qualified charitable distribution include: 

• Philanthropic good: A QCD to a charity or nonprofit, like The Lift Garage, has a huge impact on the organization. When you make a QCD to The Lift Garage, you help keep, our prices low for our customers. At The Lift Garage, customers usually pay about 1/3 of the market rate for their car repairs!  
• Taxable income: A QCD lowers your taxable income, which then reduces your risk of entering a higher tax bracket and paying more taxes.  

Consult with your tax advisor to ensure that you receive the full tax benefits of QCDs! They can best assist you with the specifics of your situation. 

The Lift Garage is happy to accept QCDs at any time. We are a registered 501(c)(3) organization, and our EIN is 45-4444338. We can provide any additional information required by your IRA custodian. Please reach out to our director of development and communications, Jesi, with any questions! You can also view our profile on GuideStar by Candid, a well-respected nonprofit database. 

When you make a QCD to The Lift Garage, you support low-cost car repair for our customers like Helen. Helen works in direct service to families in the Twin Cities, which she calls her “heart work.” Her car is essential to her getting to do the work that means so much to her, and The Lift Garage helps her ensure that her vehicle is safe and reliable. 

Donating stock, or publicly traded securities, has a huge impact on the charity or nonprofit, as well as having benefits to you as the donor!   

The Lift Garage accepts stock donations, and we are so grateful for your generosity. Your gift of stock would have a direct impact on our work providing low-cost car repair to Minnesotans and our vision of Safe Cars, Secure Lives. 

When you donate stock directly to a charity or nonprofit, you transfer shares from your brokerage account to the charity’s account. The charity typically then sells the shares and uses the proceeds to support their work!  

Donating stock can be a way to provide additional tax benefits as well! When you donate stocks directly to a charity or nonprofit, you avoid capital gains tax and the Medicare surtax.  

Donating stock is easy once you know how to do it! Once you’ve decided to make a gift of stock, you’ll fill out forms to initiate the transfer. You’ll need to know the name of the stock and its ticker symbol. On the form, you’ll indicate the number of shares that you want to donate and the intended date of transfer.  

You may also need the charity or nonprofit’s information, including: 

• Name 
• EIN 
• Brokerage Firm 
• Account Number 
• DTC Deliver Number 

When you’ve completed your forms, just send them to your brokerage! This will begin the transfer process.  

The information that you need to donate stock to The Lift Garage is:  

FBO: The Lift Garage
EIN: 45-4444338
Brokerage Firm: Charles Schwab & Co.
Account Number: 1915-0956
DTC Delivery Number: 0164 

The Lift Garage deeply appreciates stock donations, as they allow us to provide low-cost car repair to our customers at about 1/3 of the market rate, ensuring that our customers do not need to choose between everyday essentials like groceries, rent, or medical supplies and keeping their car safe to drive. 

Donating stock can be a tax-savvy move, while also having a huge impact on the charity or nonprofit! The Lift Garage is grateful for stock donations, which allow us to continue providing low-cost car repair to Minnesotans. Low-cost car repair helps ensure that our customers have the means to pursue their goals and take meaningful steps towards the life they desire. 

Some of the benefits of donating stock include:  

• Philanthropic good: When you donate stock to a nonprofit, your generosity positively impacts the charity or nonprofit, like The Lift Garage. When you donate stock to The Lift, you help keep everyone safer on the road. At The Lift Garage, we believe that we’re all safer when the cars around us are in good repair!  

• Capital gains tax: Making a gift of stock can help you potentially avoid paying capital gains taxes and the Medicare surtax. When you donate the stock directly to the charity or nonprofit, as opposed to selling the stock and donating the proceeds, the nonprofit receives a larger amount, as the capital gains tax and Medicare surtax are avoided. 

• Tax deduction: Donations of stock are immediately tax deductible to you at the fair market value of the stock!  

Consult with your tax advisor to ensure that you maximize the tax benefits of a stock donation. They can best advise you about the specifics of your situation! 

The Lift Garage accepts gifts of stock, and when you donate stock to The Lift, your donation has a meaningful impact on the lives of our customers, by helping ensure that they can get to medical appointments and focus on their health and wellbeing, rather than if their car will start. We’re so grateful to everyone who goes the extra mile in support of low-cost car repair.  

To make a gift of stock to The Lift Garage, please use the following information: 

FBO: The Lift Garage
EIN: 45-4444338
Brokerage Firm: Charles Schwab & Co.
Account Number: 1915-0956
DTC Delivery Number: 0164 

When you donate stock to The Lift Garage our broker will liquidate the assets to provide money to fund our low-cost car repair. 

If you make a gift of stock to The Lift Garage, we kindly request that you fill out this form to help ensure the accuracy of your donation. We would also love it if you reminded your broker to include your name and contact information, so that we know who to thank for the generous gift!  

When you make a gift of stock to The Lift Garage, you help ensure that our customers’ vehicles remain a viable investment, and they can focus on living full and meaningful lives, rather than worrying about if their vehicle is reliable. 

Making a legacy gift, bequest, or other planned gift is a powerful way to define your legacy and to continue to support the causes that mean the most to you even after you are gone  

The Lift Garage would be honored to receive a planned gift in support of our vision of Safe Cars, Secure Lives. Legacy gifts help ensure that The Lift Garage remains a stable source of support for our community long into the future and helps ensure that our customers can rely on us to provide low-cost car repairs for many years to come. The Lift Garage is committed to providing affordable car repairs to benefit both our customers and the whole community. We know that everyone is safer when there are more safe cars on the road.  

Legacy giving is a broad term for including a charity or nonprofit in your will or estate plans. There are many types of legacy giving, including:  

• Beneficiary designations in retirement plans, Donor-Advised Funds, or life insurance policies  
• Bequests 
• Charitable gift annuities 
• Charitable trusts 
• Gifts from donor-advised funds 
• Appreciated assets 
• Pooled income funds 

Bequests are the simplest, most common type of legacy giving; however, you should consult your estate planner to choose the best type of legacy gift for you.  

Legacy giving allows you to leave a legacy of generosity and support the future of your favorite charities. The Lift Garage is profoundly grateful to the donors who include The Lift in their estate plans, like our supporter Stephanie. She and her husband believe deeply in our work and have let us know that they intend to honor us in their will. Stephanie told us, “We believe that transportation for basic things is critical—to get to work & keep a job, to pick up children, to go grocery shopping, to get to doctors’ appointments and so on. All of these things are items that people who have more take for granted. So, we would like to make a difference for people now and in the future.” 

We would be honored to be part of your legacy! If you have already included The Lift in your estate plans, we would love to say thank you! You can let Cathy or Jesi know via email, so we can express our gratitude.  

In its simplest terms, a bequest is a gift from your will or living trust. This can be cash, property, or another asset, and it can be given to a person, nonprofit, or charity! These can be simple, or more complex! Some bequests have conditions about the use of the gift. Bequests can be of a specific dollar amount, a percentage of an estate, or the remainder of the estate once all other obligations are fulfilled.  

Bequests are the easiest and most flexible option for planned giving, as they are relatively easy to change. They are also efficient, as they provide clear instructions for the gift.   

When you make a bequest to The Lift Garage, you support our ability to help customers well into the future—like our customer Jamie! Jamie is a single mom who uses her car to care for her two sons. She takes them to school and therapy appointments, but they also use their vehicle to spend quality time together and have fun! The Lift helps keep Jamie’s car running smoothly, so she can focus on keeping her family safe and healthy, rather than worrying about if she’ll be able to get her sons to school. She told us, “Having a reliable vehicle to get to do some fun things as a family has brought us closer together, and it’s made me a better mom for sure.” 

To honor a charity or nonprofit like The Lift Garage with a bequest, you will need to leave instructions in a will. You can leave details for several bequests in your will and update them throughout your life. Your wishes, and the value of your estate, may change over the course of your lifetime, so it is often a good idea to revisit your will on a regular basis. You never know what may change!   

In order to ensure that your wishes and bequests are honored, you should ensure that your will is signed by you and two witnesses.  

The Lift Garage partners with FreeWill, a tool that allows you to make a will online and guides you through the process! You can begin the process of making your will here.  

Planned giving and bequests have so many benefits! Planned gifts provide charities and nonprofits with stability and security for the future. But more than that, they benefit you and give you peace of mind.  

Some of ways that you benefit from setting up a planned gift include: 

• Creating a legacy: When you set up a planned gift, you decide what your legacy will be after you’re gone. You can have a huge impact on the causes and nonprofits that are important to you. Just like our donor Stehanie did by including The Lift Garage in her will. 

• Tax benefits: Establishing a planned gift can have tax benefits while your estate is being settled. Planned gifts are deducted against the value of your estate and can lower the amount of federal (and state) estate taxes owed by the estate. 

• Retain Control of Your Assets: Making a planned gift maintains your assets for your use during your lifetime but can have a huge impact after you’re gone. Charitable giving may not fit into your budget now, but a planned gift can have a positive impact on causes that matter to you!  

In addition to bequests, another easy way to make a legacy gift to The Lift Garage is to list The Lift Garage as a beneficiary on your Individual Retirement Account (IRA)! This is a simple process, and the custodian of your account will have a form available for you to update your beneficiary.  

When you make The Lift Garage a beneficiary of your IRA, you help ensure that we can provide low-cost car repairs to our customers well into the future. Low-cost car repair allows our customers to focus on caring for themselves, their families, and their communities, rather than focusing on keeping their car running.  

The Lift Garage would be honored to be included in your estate plans. There are many ways to include The Lift in your planned giving, and we are happy to discuss your wishes with you. If you have questions or need help, please contact our executive director, Cathy Heying.

If you have already generously included The Lift in your estate plans, we humbly request that you let us know by emailing our director of development and communications, Jesi, or by filling out this simple form. We’d love to be able to thank you personally while you’re living!