Other Ways To Give.....

Gifts of Cash

If you itemize deductions on your tax returns, the first tangible benefit of
making a gift of cash to the OUTmusic Inc. today is an income tax charitable
deduction for the full fair market value of the gift in most cases. The
resulting reduction in income taxes payable lowers the net cost of the gift.
If you are subject to state and/or local income taxes as well as federal,
the combined marginal rate (after the federal deduction for those income
taxes paid) should be taken into consideration in determining the gift's net
cost.

If you don't usually itemize deductions, you may want to consider it for any
tax year in which you make a sizable charitable donation. One technique used
by people who have few itemized deductions is to alternate between years in
which they take the standard deduction and make few charitable gifts, and
the years in which they give double their desired annual philanthropic
support and shift to itemizing.

Beware of the annual limitation on the use of charitable deductions claimed
for gifts to public charitable organizations, which for any specific year is
50 percent of your adjusted gross income (AGI) for cash gifts. Any unused
deductible amounts can be carried over and used for as many as five
additional years, if necessary.

If you predict that your estate will be subject to estate tax at your death,
keep in mind that you receive a federal gift tax charitable deduction for
the value of gifts of cash made during your lifetime. Since the value also
is removed from your future estate, it completely avoids the unified federal
estate and gift tax. This savings reduces the net cost of your charitable
gifts.

Outright Gifts and Their Results

Cash gift: A cash gift by check is one of the most common methods for making
an outright charitable contribution. For monetary gifts of $250 and more,
donors must have written confirmation from the charitable donee, as canceled
checks are no longer sufficient proof of a deductible gift. Cancelled checks
are acceptable for gifts of less than $250. True cash gifts (not checks),
regardless of the amount, must be evidenced by a receipt from the charitable
organization.

To illustrate the net cost of a $1,000 cash gift, assume the gift is made by
a taxpayer with a combined state and federal marginal income tax rate of 36
percent. The amount of the tax bracket, mulitplied by the amount of the
gift, is subtracted from the gift to determine the net cost to the donor.

36% x $1,000 = $360
$1,000 - $360 = $640
Therefore, the net cost of the donor's gift is $640

Volunteer

OUTmusic understands the importance of volunteers in our work: Please visit our employment page for volunteer opportunities.