The PCA Foundation is committed to helping Christians give more resources in more ways, maximizing the impact of their gift while lowering their tax burden as much as possible. We facilitate all sorts of contributions, from simple cash gifts to complex non-cash assets. The Foundation is particularly helpful in facilitating gifts beyond the offering plate.
The list below breaks down two unique ways to give, broadening your options beyond what fits in the offering plate. Use this list to discover unique giving methods, save on taxes, and maximize your gifts.
BUNCHING
Bunching enables generous donors to claim both the standard deduction and the itemized charitable deduction over two (or three) years. By giving two (or three) years’ worth of charitable donations into a donor-advised fund in one year, the donor is able to keep his or her support of church and favorite ministries constant over those years while fully utilizing the itemized charitable deduction for the gift to the DAF in the first year, AND the standard deduction in the following years.
A donor cannot take both itemized deductions and the standard deduction in the same year. So, in one year, a donor gives two or three years of planned charitable donations into his DAF, pushing his total charitable and other deductions over the amount of the standard deduction. He then chooses to itemize his deductions in that year because the total of his itemized deductions exceeds the standard deduction. But the donor preserves the value of the standard deduction for the following year or years by giving to church and favorite ministries in those years from his DAF rather than as new money, and claiming the standard deduction rather than itemizing. The donor has claimed the itemized deduction for all his giving over two or three years, plus the standard deduction for one or two of those years, and still has distributed his giving with the same frequency his preferred charities have come to expect.
For example, the 2025 standard deduction for married persons filing jointly is $30,000. If their usual yearly giving is $18,000, Bob and Susan would give $36,000 in 2025 to their DAF (or $18,000 to their chosen charities and an additional $18,000 to their DAF), and take an itemized charitable deduction of $36,000. But they would give $0 of new money in 2026 and take the standard deduction of $30,000, while doing their regular giving of $18,000 out of their DAF. Their total deduction over two years would then be $66,000 rather than $48,000 ($18,000 plus $30,000) or $60,000 ($30,000 plus $30,000).
In the giving community, “bunching” simply means doubling up on donations in one year and skipping donations the next, but bunching can occur also over time periods of three or more years.
Bunchers can utilize a tool like the PCA Foundation’s Advise & Consult Fund to pace their giving across the two-year or longer period. For more information on bunching, click here.
NON-CASH ASSETS (give before you sell)
The wealth of a typical church member typically is stored in appreciated non-cash assets such as public stocks, real estate, and privately held businesses. Donating these non-cash assets produces the largest effective deductions, consisting of exclusion from capital gains (the equivalent of a deduction) plus an actual charitable deduction.
When a donor gives a non-cash asset (including not only publicly traded stock, but also family or other private business stock, and real estate) before sale rather than cash proceeds after sale, he or she effectively doubles the charitable deduction for the appreciation in the asset. By donating part or all of the asset to the Foundation, the donor is able to (i) avoid tax on capital gain, while also (ii) deducting the amount of the capital gain.
This giving method can vastly increase tax savings, thereby vastly increasing how much a donor can give to church and other favorite ministries. It is important to give the intended value in the form of the asset or a portion of the asset before signing the sales agreement or any binding letter of intent.
The PCAF is equipped to facilitate and receive appreciated non-cash gifts, and to manage and liquidate the gifted assets and place the proceeds into a donor-advised fund for ultimate granting out by the donor. For more information on non-cash giving and how it works at the PCAF, click here.
CONTACT US
If you would like to find out more about thinking outside the box with your gifts, visit https://pcafoundation.com/donors/ today. Would you like to help your church members give more from a variety of assets? The PCAF now offers free, in person workshops covering basic estate and gift planning, non-cash giving, and advanced gift planning. Learn more at https://pcafoundation.com/smart-giving-workshop/.