December 1998
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VOLUME 6, ISSUE 4
PbilanthropyJoumal
OF NORTH CAROLINA
Trimming taxes
Seeking to cut taxes, donors consider year-end gifts
Donors should consider their tax
situation and possible deductions
in planning last-minute charitable
giving.
By Emily Brewer
The dwindling days of 1998
promise to prompt taxpayers looking
to save on their tax hhls to consider
making quick gifts to charity. But
donors need to make some careful
calculations first, say financial advis
ers.
“If you want to get a tax deduction
on your 1998 taxes, you need to make
your gift complete hy midni^t on
Dec. 31,” says Ranlet Bell, a tax attor
ney with the firm Womble Carlyle
Sandridge & Rice in Winston-Salem.
“Ideally, you should get it to the char
ity in enou^ time for them to cash
and record it.”
The end of the year often is a busy
time for charities and foundations as
donors seek ways to trim tax bills.
Nearly half of the 70 funds estab
lished last year by the Triangle
Community Foundation were set up
in the month of December.
Community foundations can be
very helpful to donors looking to
round out their giving for tax purpos
es, and needing to do so swiftly, says
TAX PLANNING
Fred Stang, associate director of the
Triangle Community Fbundation.
“If It’s getting to be near the end of
the year, and your accountant or tax
adviser has suggested you make gifts
of appreciated securities, instead of
scurrying around trying to find some
one to give it to, you can gift the secu
rities to a donor-advised fund at a
community foundation,” says Stang.
“For tax purposes, the tax event has
occurred and you have the leisure to
decide how to grant those dollars out
when ever you’re ready.”
Gifts of stock that have increased
in value offer the biggest tax breaks,
says Stang, because a donor receives
not only a charitable deduction based
on the fair market value of the gift,
but also avoids capital gains tax on
the increased value.
Heather Linton, an accountant in
Durham, suggests people talk to their
accountants to help them calculate
their projected tax hahihty and how
to plan their giving.
Linton encourages people to look
at their entire financial situation
before making donation decisions.
She offers the following su^s-
tions in these areas:
Tax rate bracket considerations
Donors should consider whether
they may he in a higher tax bracket
this year or next year. They should
consider making charitable contribu
tions in the year in which they are in
a higher bracket.
Gifts of appreciated stock
Appreciated stocks could fall
under heavy capital gains taxes if
sold, but when ^ven to charity can
yield Income tax deductions and
avoid capital gains taxes.
Look for TAXES, page 9
Is it working?
Center looks at UNC system governance
The first installment of a four-part
study of the governance of the 16-
campus system will be published
next month.
By Michael R. Hobbs
The North Carolina Center for
Public Policy Research is conducting
a wide-ranging study of the way the
16-campus University of North
Carolina system is governed.
The study is being funded by a
8200,000 grant from the WK. Kellogg
Foundation as part of the founda
tion’s efforts to assess American
higher education.
The first installment of the four-
part study will be pubHshed by the
center next month, says Ran Coble,
director of the Raleigh-based center.
'The first installment will examine
the history and the issues surround
ing the formation of the UNC system.
Coble says. Future installments will
look at hi^er education governance
structures used in other states, how
members of the UNC sjTstem’s Board
of Governors are selected and the
powers of the board, and the perfor
mance of the board and issues facing
the UNC system.
Dozens of people associated with
the UNC system and its formation
already have been interviewed for the
project.
“We’re asking them what were the
issues then and we’re trying to do
some good thinking about which of
those issues speak to us today,” Coble
says.
Findings from the study should
help guide poiicymakers in North
Carolina and in other states who face
questions concerning the manage
ment of their pubUc universities, says
John Burkhardt, the Kellogg
Foundation’s program director in
hi^er education leadership.
“We didn’t see this study as being
a kind of dead-end tunnel,”
Burkhardt says.
It also seemed to be an appropri
ate time for an evaluation of the sys
tem in part because of its recent
change in leadership with the
appointment of President Molly
Broad in 1997, he says.
'The UNC system was established
after the General Assembly in 1971
passed legislation to consolidate
North Carolina’s public universities.
The system is guided by a board that
has 32 voting members who are
selected by the legislature.
The second portion of the study,
expected to be completed in February,
Look for UNC, page 13
Over the top
United Way chapters
set fundraising records
By PATfY COURTRIGHT
It’s turning out to be a good
year for United Ways
in North Carolina.
In the Charlotte
area. United Way of
Central Carolinas,
Inc., broke its
fundraising record,
raising $29.15 mOlion
— 10 percent more
than that raised last
year.
In the Research Triangle area,
the Triangle United Way also
broke a record, generating $22.33
million, an 11.7 percent increase
over the money raised in 1997.
“This IS a campaign in which
both the largest and smallest of
companies gave sig
nificantly,” says Bill
Peck, vice president
of resource develop
ment for Trian^e
United Way. ‘Also,
we had a significant
number of new par
ticipants this year.
The last record
shows 12 to 15 new
campaigns, which we suspect will
contribute a total of $100,000 in
Look for UNfTED WAY page 17
Donated computers reborn as new tools
By Lauren Matthews
Securing a donated computer can
be a tou^ job for people working at
nonprofits.
Fewer than 5 percent of all per
sonal computers are donated to
schools and nonprofits, according to
Dataquest, a market research firm
based in San Jose, Calif.
What’s more, soliciting contribut
ed computers may not be the best
way for nonprofits to address their
technology needs. Computer prices
have fallen sharply in recent years,
making more powerful new and used
computers more affordable.
It also can be difficult, if not
impossible, to get technical support
from manufacturers for donated com
puters.
Still, by following some basic
steps, you may be able to take advan-
ta^ of opportunities to land contri
butions of the hardware you need.
First, decide what you want and
what you can use, and understand
that the two may differ.
The key to obtaining computers,
says Paul Foldes, president of
InterHelp, Inc., an Alexandria, Va.-
based technology consulting firm, is
being flexible and creative and not
unrealistic in your expectations.
While a powerful model may be
attractive, a more modest version
may be perfectly suitable, he says.
Personal computers come in dif
ferent grades based on the speed of
their processors. In ascending order
of the size of their processors, or
brains, they are known as 286s, 386s,
486s, Pentiums and Pentium IIs. Most
computers that are donated tend to
be either 386s or 486s.
Tech News, a United Way publica
tion for human service organizations,
urges nonprofits to “avoid 286s for
anything other than basic training,
teid-based telecommunications such
as electronic mail, simple word pro
cessing or other relatively unde
manding uses.’^
With the ri^t software, a 386 will
let you surf the Web and perform
other functions. Software that can
run on a 386 may have fewer features
than more recent software, and will
be slower.
A 486 has more memory and
speed than a 386 and less than a
Pentium. It can support more recent
software than a 386 and might be
more useful than a 386 for appUca-
tions such as graphing.
Once you have decided what you
want and need, the next step is to
find an organization that recycles
and/or donates computers, (^e a
list of donors and clearin^ouses on
the Web at www.pj.org'technology/
computerrecyclel.cfm. >
Check for groups in your area.
Many computer recyclers have limit
ed budgets and are unable to pay to
ship computers so they prefer to
serve nearby nonprofits that can
pick them up.
Look for DONATE, page 9
1 NONPROFITS
1 FOUNDATIONS
( OPINION
Nonprofit executives from United
Service learning incorporates
Foundations help many, one person
Way agencies to receive free busi-
community service and volunteerism
at a time, says columnist Larry
ness education from Wake Forest.
into college classes.
Meyer.
: Page 4
G Page 6
Page 10
INSIDE
Opinion 10
Grants & Gifts 14
In December 15
People 15
Professional Services..!6
I FUNDRAISING
The Internet is poised os the new
frontier for nonprofit fundraising.
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