?Tis the season to be giving.
But for people with grown children who already have all that life offers, finding the perfect gift can be challenging.
David Danaker, general counsel at Baltimore?s Sheppard Pratt Health Systems, said an idea that started as a birthday present for his wife, Sarah, has snowballed into a gift that keeps giving.
Working with the Baltimore Community Foundation, Danaker established a charitable donor-advised fund that his wife is able to direct.
“My wife had been a teacher at Baltimore School City College for 25 years when we started,” Danaker said. “She has created and managed an exchange program for students in her foreign language program. There were always students who wanted to go but didn?t have the funds to be able to afford to go.”
So for her 60th birthday, Danaker donated $10,000 to the Baltimore Community Foundation in Sarah Danaker?s name, and a fund was created to make her dreams come true.
“What happened is that on subsequent birthdays and Christmas, we have made additions to the fund, and other people in the family have done that,” Danaker said. “That is preferred to some gift that we don?t need. One of the nice things is that once the fund is established, additions can be made in any amount. People who can?t afford to make a great big contribution can donate in any amount.”
Gigi Wirtz, communications director for the Baltimore Community Foundation, said the donor-advised fund is among the most popular of the numerous charitable funds helped by the organization.
“If someone wanted to surprise someone with a gift, the holiday recipient will be able to recommend charities all next year and beyond,” Wirtz said. “It?s kind of like gift-card-meets-charitable-gift-in-your-name. It?s the perfect marriage of those two gift trends.”
In addition to the gift, the donor-advised fund also offers contributors a tax deduction, she said. Plus, it?s not limited to cash donations.
“In this year when the stock market went up, people may wish to donate appreciated stock,” she said. “The full share value of the stock on the day it is donated is tax deductible.”
