Details for Other Payment Options
These payment options often require you to work with an outside party—perhaps your employer, a financial advisor, or accountant—in addition to UUC staff.
Matching Gift
If your employer matches donations, please follow their procedures or forms to request their match of your donation to UUC. You may be able to set up monthly matches to accompany your pledge to UUC. Every company has its own procedure; asking HR is usually a good place to start.
Donor-Advised Fund
Some people contribute money to a donor-advised fund (DAF). This fund is managed by a financial institution (such as Vanguard or Fidelity) or by a large nonprofit foundation (like the Seattle Foundation). A DAF holds a donor’s contributions until the managing institution is directed to release some amount to an eligible charitable organization. Churches are one such eligible type of charitable organization, and UUC annual pledge payments qualify as a purpose for release.
If you have a donor advised fund and wish to issue grants from that fund to UUC, give UUC’s tax ID 91-0593062 to your managing institution for verification. Please note that because participants in DAFs receive tax deductions when they contribute money into the DAF (not when the funds are released), the church must record such donations as nondeductible in donor records.
Retirement Account
Please consult with your retirement account manager and your tax accountant before making a decision about donating from a retirement account. The information below is offered for general understanding and is NOT professional financial advice.
There are two ways to make gifts to UUC from a retirement account, depending on your tax strategies.
One way is to make a qualified charitable distribution (QCD) directly from your retirement account to the church. When you request this from the firm that manages your retirement account, the money is withdrawn from your account and is sent directly to UUC by the financial institution. This is recorded as your gift to the church, but not as a distribution to you and is therefore not included in your taxable income.
A second way is to write a check directly from your retirement account and make UUC the payee. Such a check, signed by you, is considered a withdrawal for your benefit and is considered a distribution of income. UUC records the donation as a tax-deductible gift, so you will be able to deduct it from your taxable income. But in contrast to a QCD, the amount of the check will be included in your annual income for tax purposes.
If you decide that a gift to UUC using either method is a good option for you, please give the church’s tax ID 91-0593062 to your managing institution for verification. They will lead you through the process of issuing a gift.
Stock
Please consult with your retirement account manager and your tax accountant before making a decision about donating gifts of stock. The information below is offered for general understanding and is NOT professional financial advice.
Many people who have appreciated stocks choose to donate them to UUC. The market value of the stocks at the time of donation is deductible from your taxable income, and you will also avoid income taxes on any capital gains. This can be a significant advantage if you have appreciated stocks.
UUC has a Schwab account set up specifically to receive stock gifts. They have standing instructions to immediately sell all stocks received. The donation value of your gift is calculated, as required by law, as the number of donated shares times the calculated mean of the high and low prices on the day the stock is received by Schwab.
If you wish to make a gift of stock to the church, please contact the UUC office so we can share with you the appropriate information to give to your brokerage and the next steps needed for us to create a record of your gift.