Consider charitable giving as the year comes to a close

The end of the year is an important period for not-for-profits that benefit from charitable giving. Many individuals and business will make donations to their favorite charities, ranging from churches and other faith-based organizations to organizations focusing on health care, education, food banks and countless others noble causes.

JP Morgan notes that about 60% of Americans participate in charitable giving, with 64% of donations totaling $319.04 billion coming from individuals. And while those who make the most ($10 million or more) donate the highest percentage of their income at 9.3%, the second highest comes from individuals making less than $50,000 per year. This group donates an average of 8.4% of their income.

According to Forbes, Missouri ranks as one of the more generous state in the U.S. with 31% of the state's resident's involved in volunteer efforts and 55% donating monetarily to a charitable cause, the latter figure ranking 15th highest in the nation.

We also know that many organizations bring in a sizable portion of their annual donations during the final two months of the year. Giving Tuesday, which follows the Thanksgiving weekend, is part of this period. But many will also make year-end donations by Dec. 31 for tax purposes.

Trudy Lee, former vice president of University Advancement and executive director of the Southeast Missouri University Foundation, has written several articles that have appeared in the Southeast Missourian over the last year about how to support local not-for-profits through philanthropic giving. Her recent article that published Dec. 12 focused on year-end giving and the impact it makes, particularly in this area. If you haven't read this, give it a look. There is some great information, including specific tax strategies related to giving as we near the end of the year.

While we spend much time during the Christmas season buying gifts and enjoying events, there's a special joy that comes from giving. Credit to the many organizations in our region doing important work to help others. We hope you'll consider how you can play a role.