Are you looking for other ways to support Housing Assistance Corporation beyond writing a check or using a credit card? We asked three Housing Assistance supporters to tell why they chose three tax-efficient ways to give.

Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs)

Individuals age 70½ can donate up to $100,000 directly from their Individual Retirement Account (IRA), without treating the distribution as taxable income.

“When I read stories like the one about a Chatham fisherman who is living in his car because he can no longer find housing in Chatham, and to live elsewhere would negate his fishing license, I’m scared for our collective future,” said Dot Boulia of Harwich. “If there are solutions, I am confident HAC is going to find them or create them.”

“My husband Larry and I decided to fund HAC with a significant (at least to us) donation each month. In discussions with our financial advisor, we learned that we could do the donation directly from my Larry’s IRA as part of his annual RMD (required minimum distribution). This was not only easy (once you set it up with your financial services, it happens automatically) but it saved us hundreds of dollars each year by reducing our income by the amount we donate. This allowed us to give more, which felt great!”

Donor Advised Fund (DAF)

DAF’s allow you to support our mission and receive an immediate tax reduction as you give your support over time.

“I’ve been really impressed by Housing Assistance’s collaboration on Grow Smart with the Association to Preserve Cape Cod, trying to find the balance between conservation and housing,” said Ann Fleck-Henderson of South Orleans. “The Housing Assistance approach also is very evident in the new HPCC initiative in terms of organizing a movement. This is not an easy problem, but I think that Housing Assistance is doing a lot of smart things.

“I give through a donor advised fund because it makes organizing my tax records easier. Also, a DAF allows me to set aside what I think I can give in a year. Then I can be more careful and planful about giving, rather than always responding to the latest request.”

Stocks & Securities

Housing Assistance accepts gifts of stock and other appreciated assets. In doing so, you may avoid paying capital gains taxes on the appreciation, effectively increasing your donation and decreasing your tax exposure.

Roy Hammer of Cummaquid said he and his husband Jim Hinkle support Housing Assistance because “we’ve known for a long time that housing security is very difficult on Cape Cod and as the years have gone on, it’s gotten even worse, with the number of people who purchased houses here during the COVID period, pushing the prices up. We need to support Housing Assistance whatever way we can to make sure that working people can live on Cape Cod.

“If you’re fortunate enough to have securities and if they were purchased long enough ago that they increased in price, it makes sense to give the securities rather than making a cash gift. If you were to sell the securities, you’d have to pay a large capital gains tax. Whereas, the gift of the securities gives you the benefit of the gift for tax purposes without the penalty of paying extra taxes.”

Donors interested in learning more about tax-efficient giving should contact chief development officer Anne Van Vleck: avanvleck@haconcapecod.org | 508-771-5400, ext. 228