The impact of Coronavirus today is real. Schools and businesses are shuttered and for many of us home is our new favorite spot “to go” – to the office, school, exercise, or dinner and a movie with our families. Today, we are finding new ways of having everything at our fingertips, at home.
As we adjust to this “new normal” the best way to help fight Covid-19 is to follow the Center for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines. Stay home, practice social-distancing, wash your hands often, clean frequently touched surfaces, cover your mouth when you sneeze and cough and don’t touch your face.
While staying at home is important guidance to help fight Covid-19, many people are interested in offering additional help and seeking advice on giving in this time of need. This is evident in the worldwide philanthropic response to Covid-19 – donations already exceed $2 billion and continue to rise. Congress passed the CARES Act prioritizing philanthropy by instituting a new $300 tax deduction for donations made directly to charity. The CARES Act also relaxes the limit on charitable contributions for itemizers, increasing the deduction from 60% to 100% of gross income. Countries around the world are responding similarly.
Today there are many worthy charities in need. These are the three key categories you may want to consider as you determine the impact you want from your donation.
• Support the fight against Covid-19 through relief funds
• Protect critical social services that must operate during Covid-19
• Sustain organizations that will be disproportionately affected by Covid-19
As you consider how you want to respond, The Center for Disaster Philanthropy reminds us to plan for the multiple phases and needs in this crisis before giving. This organization has a number ideas on how you may want to allocate your donations. Candid, an organization that provides data and research to help nonprofits, also has a comprehensive Covid-19 resource page to help you identify the organization(s) that you may want to support. If you use a donor advised fund for your philanthropy, most funds are sharing regularly updated philanthropic advice during this pandemic to help support the communities and nonprofits impacted.
At Crestwood, we discuss philanthropy with our clients throughout the year. Please contact your Wealth Manager if you have additional questions about your personal strategy.
Crestwood is fortunate to remain fully operational with our entire team working remotely however, we recognize that many companies and individuals are working under tenuous long-term security and/or extraordinarily challenging circumstances. We have enormous respect and appreciation for all those on the frontlines within our healthcare systems as well as police, firefighters, grocery clerks and so many others still working to support us during this difficult time.
To help provide resources and other aide to those most impacted by the coronavirus fallout, Crestwood is pleased to support these organizations::
• Massachusetts Covid-19 Relief Fund
• Boston Resiliency Fund
• Fairfield County Covid-19 Resiliency Fund
• Americares
Thank you to all of our clients, friends and family members in essential industries who are needed to fight this pandemic and keep our economy going.
