Congress Embedded A Generous Gift in “Fiscal Cliff” Vote! Act Now!

Posted on January 4, 2013 by Pierre Ferrari

Dear friends,

After all the brinksmanship around the so-called “fiscal cliff,” it turns out there are a couple of “gifts” embedded in the agreement, including one very significant charitable contribution nugget!

Photo by Dave Anderson, courtesy of Heifer International.

It’s a variation on the Investment Retirement Account (IRA) charitable rollover provision, which now allows seniors 70 1/2 and older to transfer as much as $100,000 from your traditional IRAs into a gift to Heifer International or some other 501(c)(3) organization. But it’s a time-limited opportunity that expires on January 30, 2013.

This one-time gift from Congress, which allows you treat your donation as if it were made December 31, 2012, gives you the chance to offset 2012 income from your IRA’s required minimum distributions and at the same time, help give a struggling family a hand up to a life free from hunger, from poverty, and to leave a lasting legacy of change by joining with Heifer to build communities of help and hope.

There is a restriction. You must have received your IRA distribution in December 2012.

As a nonprofit, Heifer won’t have to pay income tax on withdrawals from these accounts, and though you won’t receive a tax deduction for your gift, the contribution won’t be included in your adjusted gross income (AGI), so you won’t face percentage limitations on charitable deductions and you may even be able to avoid certain penalties that come with a higher AGI, such as higher Medicare premiums.

Time is short and the need is great, so please take advantage of this limited-time opportunity to help yourself and others—families who without your support face a lifetime of hunger and generations of extreme poverty.

This “embedded gift” will change lives now and for generations to come as families use the animals, tools and training to improve income, nutrition, homes, to pay school fees and to pass on their gifts—the first born female offspring of their animal, along with all they have learned—to another family, creating an ever-widening circle of opportunity.

This is a one-time gift from Congress to create true change, but we need your answer and your gift by January 30. Will you help us, please?

Joining you in working for a better world.

Pierre Ferrari and Bob Bloom
President and CEO, and CFO, Heifer International

Year-End Gifts Ease Your Tax Burden

Posted on December 27, 2012 by Linda Meyers

Image courtesy of clipart.com

As the end of the calendar year approaches, it’s time to round out your charitable contributions for the tax year, and Heifer International urges you to include the struggle against hunger and poverty in your philanthropic efforts.

You may already know the joy of including Heifer International animal gifts in your holiday giving. Heifer International uses tools like livestock to bring self-reliance to struggling families, but these projects consist of more than just an animal. Training in animal care, Earth-friendly agriculture, and gender equity all provide the foundation for lasting change.

That’s why a year-end donation to Heifer International represents a sound investment in the improvement of our world. Your gift will multiply, because every family receiving a Heifer International animal promises to Pass on the Gift of their animal’s first offspring to another family nearby.

Passing on the Gift ceremony in Bangladesh. Photo by Geoff Bugbee, courtesy of Heifer International

Heifer International’s model of creating enduring transformation in its project communities is known to be an effective solution to poverty, not just a one-time Band-Aid. Donating to Heifer International as part of your tax planning makes you a part of that solution. And Heifer is a reputable charity where your funds will be used responsibly; Charity Navigator, for example rates Heifer with three out of four stars.

Charitable donations to Heifer International are tax-deductible when you itemize deductions on your tax return, but hurry to make your contribution by December 31, 2012.

To see our full gift catalog, visit www.heifer.org/catalog.

What is Thanksgiving to Your Family?

Posted on November 22, 2012 by Brooke Edwards

Happy Thanksgiving! The Thanksgiving holiday has many meanings to people all over the country. What is Thanksgiving to your family? Do you spend time sharing what it is you each are thankful for?

Photo credit: muffintinmom, used under Creative Commons license.

As a Heifer International employee, I am grateful for you. For Heifer donors, supporters, volunteers and participants everywhere. I want to say Thank You for helping us do the important work of ending hunger, poverty and environmental degradation.

If you’re feeling extra generous on this day of thanks, I’d like to encourage you to consider making the gift of a Boost of Nutrition so that another family can be as fortunate as yours. While many of us are feasting, nearly a billion are going hungry. Today, you can do something to help.

This post is part of our What to Give series, where we’re helping you choose the best Heifer gift for your loved ones. Read previous What to Give posts here, and subscribe to the What to Give series here.

Still don’t know what to give? Check out our entire online Gift Catalog.

Tell us in the comments section: What is Thanksgiving to Your Family?

What is Thanksgiving without giving? Give now.

Sustainability at Heifer International: Part 2

Posted on October 13, 2012 by Pierre Ferrari

At Heifer International, “sustainability” is much more than a buzzword. It’s at the core of everything we do. If your donation isn’t going to make a lasting difference, what’s the point of giving? As I mentioned in my blog post Thursday, Heifer’s work can be viewed through three lenses of sustainability. This post is the second in a three-part series to examine what genuine sustainability looks like at Heifer International. Read Part 1 here.

Sustainability: The capacity to endure

Heifer’s work is made possible through the contributions of individuals, families, congregations, civic groups, schools, private foundations, corporate partners, government entities and others. What a shame it would be if these generous gifts, once given, became obsolete. The beauty of our model, however, is that the original recipients of a project’s livestock, agricultural resources and training are committed to Passing on the Gift in equal quantity and quality.

Sustainability through Passing on the Gift in China. Photo by Russell Powell, courtesy of Heifer International.

Watch Alton Brown explain how gifts to Heifer International exemplify sustainability through Passing on the Gift:

This process happens a minimum of one time per project. Would you believe that the average project’s gifts are passed on for five or six (livestock) generations? In Nepal, some projects have Passed on the Gift 13 times. These extra pass-ons aren’t at the requirement of our project staff; they happen because families and communities are so transformed by these gifts, they want to keep paying it forward. Now that’s making a donation last.

Check back on the Heifer Blog tomorrow for Part 3 of this Sustainability at Heifer series. Better yet, subscribe to the blog by email or RSS feed and keep up with Heifer every day.

Want to give the gift of genuine sustainability? Visit our online gift catalog now.

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The official blog of Heifer International

Tag Archives: charitable giving