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HOME  >  DONORS & ADVISORS  >  WHAT & HOW TO GIVE What & How to Give If you are interested in giving, we are ready to help you and we welcome your support. All donations to the Asian Pacific Fund are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. For assistance with any of these options, please call (415) 433-6859, ext. 15. Current Gifts Most people are familiar with charitable contributions that help right now with high priority issues. The Fund can accept these gifts in several forms. Cash or Personal Check. Cash is a very common way that donors make contributions. A donor who itemizes deductions can claim a full tax deduction for gifts of cash (or by credit card, see below) up to 50 percent of his or her adjusted gross income. If there is an excess you can carry that amount forward for up to an additional five years. Please make checks payable to Asian Pacific Fund and mail to 225 Bush Street, Suite 590, San Francisco, CA 94104. If you are making a contribution for a special or restricted purpose, please include a cover note or indicate the purpose in the note section of the check. Credit Card. Many donors like the convenience of contributions made by credit card. We are pleased to accept gifts via Visa or MasterCard. (Note: The Fund will receive your gift minus a 4.6 percent bank processing fee.) For security reasons we recommend that you provide account information by calling us at (415) 433-6859. Securities. Contributions of securities like stocks or bonds often have greater tax benefits. Transferring appreciated assets that have been owned for at least 12 months results in greater tax benefits than if the donor sold the asset and then donated the proceed of the sale. The donor who itemizes deductions can claim a tax deduction based on the full fair market value of the securities up to 30 percent of the donor’s adjusted gross income. The donor avoids paying capital gains tax on the appreciated portion. For securities that the donor has owned for less than 12 months, the tax deduction is either the fair market value of the cost basis, whichever is less. The Fund will liquidate the securities and the full value of the gift will support your charitable goals. Real estate. A gift of real estate (land, residential or commercial property) affords the donor the same tax benefits as a gift of securities, with far greater benefits for property that you have owned for more than one year. The tax deduction is based on the fair market (and appreciated) value of the property and the donor is able to avoid paying capital gains tax. To discuss this option, please call the (415) 433-6859. Donor Advised Funds Planned Gifts and Bequests Many people consider planned gifts as part of overall estate and financial planning to take advantage of attractive tax benefits, preserve the assets of the estate and assist favorite charitable causes. As with all financial planning, people often revisit, modify and enhance their plans as life circumstances change. There are several forms of planned gifts, but in most forms, the charitable contribution is made later, even though the donor is actively involved now in making the decisions about the gift. Bequests, i.e. naming the Asian Pacific Fund in a will or living trust. There are many ways to structure a bequest. Some approaches affect the amount of the gift, and others affect the ultimate use of the gift. Below are some examples of ways to set the amount of the gift: Specific Bequest (i.e. a specific dollar amount) – With this approach the donor decides a specific dollar amount from the estate to be given. Residuary Bequest (i.e. whatever is left over in the estate after the other bequests have been made) – With this approach, all bequests are paid first and, if there is something left over, a “residual” amount, that becomes the charitable contribution. Proportional Bequest (i.e. a percentage of the estate) – With this approach the donor sets a proportion or percentage of the estate to be given to charity. Contingency Bequest (i.e. only if certain conditions occur) – With this approach the donor the charitable gift is contingent upon a certain condition. For example, a donor may wish a spouse or partner to be the sole beneficiary of the estate. An example of a contingent bequest might be if that spouse or partner does not survive the donor, then a charitable bequest is made instead. Gift or Bequest of Charitable Remainder Interest – With this approach the donor establishes that, after payments are made to the trust beneficiaries, a portion of a trust’s remaining principal and income are a charitable bequest. Charitable Remainder Trusts A charitable remainder trust produces income for the donor or the donor’s designated beneficiary (such as a parent or other elder), and the charitable use of the remaining trust assets, after death, are determined by the donor. This option is attractive for individuals and families who want to give but who still need a steady income to maintain their lifestyle. Creating a charitable remainder trust (CRT) is an effective way to diversify assets and defer or avoid significant capital gains tax when you have a highly-appreciated asset. To create a CRT, the donor transfers cash, securities or property. The assets are liquidated, put into a trust and invested, then providing regular income payments of at least 5 percent annually to the income beneficiary. In the year the gift is made, the donor receives a tax deduction for the value of the future gift. The payments continue for a fixed period of time or until the death of the beneficiary. At that time, the remaining assets are transferred from the trust to the Asian Pacific Fund to use according to the donor's wishes. The options described in Choosing How Your Gift is Used can be applied to the assets of a mature CRT. To learn about how the Asian Pacific Fund helped one couple establish a charitable remainder trust, please read Pat and C.K. Chow's donor profile. Retirement Plan Assets. Depending on the size of the estate, these assets might be heavily taxed if left to an heir, so designating a charity as the remainder beneficiary may be a better use of these assets. Life Insurance. People can give life insurance as part of estate planning or donate an unneeded policy. Ownership of a cash value policy is transferred to the Asian Pacific Fund, and the policy's current value is tax deductible as a charitable contribution. Workplace Giving. Supporting important causes or charities through payroll deduction remains a popular approach in the Bay Area. Donors who participate in workplace giving can earmark their gift to benefit the Bay Area Asian community by earmarking their contribution for the Asian Pacific Fund. Please see our Recent Grants page for a description of the grants and services to community agencies that we support through our annual campaign. The United Way is by far the largest and best known vehicle for workplace giving. The Fund is a member of the California State Employees Charitable Campaign and the Combined Federal Campaign (ID number 87627). For more information about workplace giving, please visit the United Way web site. Choosing How Your Gift is Used Whether through a current gift or a deferred planned gift (such as a bequest described above), donors have many options to direct the use of a contribution. The donor can direct the use of the contribution regardless of the type of asset (cash, securities, real estate, etc.) or the type of gift (bequest, charitable remainder trust, etc.). For example, the donor may want only to support a specific ethnic community, a particular program, or one or several favorite charities over the course of many years. The Fund works with donors and their advisors to suggest gift language to ensure the donor's goals are met. Also, although we specialize in working with Asian organizations, the donors’ charitable beneficiaries need not be Asian nor located in the San Francisco Bay Area.

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