JCEF Online: Using the Federation’s DAF portal for easy grantmaking and fund viewing
Are you currently using JCEF Online to make grant recommendations? View your fund statement? See when your grants went out? GREAT!
Using JCEF Online is the single most efficient and effective way to manage your fund. Through JCEF Online you can view your grant history, make your grant recommendations and see past statements and communications. As a partner with the Federation, JCEF Online is also a great resource for grantmaking ideas, with the Federation’s priority area needs constantly updated on the home page.
If you’re not yet using JCEF Online and would like to be set up with a username and password, or if you’d just like a tutorial from the DAF team, just let us know. We’re happy to walk you through the portal on the phone, or meet with you in person.
IRA Contributions and DAFs
On December 16, Congress extended the Charitable Rollover for 2014, which was only available through December 31, 2014. Had you acted quickly and, if you were age 70½ or older, you could have donated up to $100,000 of your Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) to a public charity.
As in years past, Donor Advised Funds remained specifically excluded from the Charitable Rollover. With the Federation being a Public Charity, to many it seemed logical that they could use their IRA to fund their Donor Advised Fund. Seems obvious, right? Unfortunately, it’s not, and this is something the IRS just does not allow.
While the time for the Charitable Rollover has passed, we did want to mention this to you, especially to keep in mind for 2015, in the event that Congress reinstates the Charitable Rollover.
Contributions to your DAF – how are they invested?
When you make a contribution to your DAF greater than $25,000 and your Fund is already invested in one of our investment pools, the new contribution will be added to your selected pool (unless you notify us otherwise).
For contributions less than $25,000, you may opt to have these funds added to the investment pool by checking the appropriate box on the Contribution Transmittal Form, or by sending an email to DAF@sfjcf.org.
This technicality can sometimes be confusing. If you’d like to discuss or make changes to your current elections or simply ask general questions about how and when to invest funds, please reach out to us directly.
Bifurcation – what’s that, and why should I care about it?
We don’t need to get into the IRS’s exact definition of bifurcation, but we do want to let you know how it impacts you. When you recommend a grant from your Donor Advised Fund, there can be NO DONOR BENEFIT. What does this mean for you? Well, it means that, if you’d like to attend a charity event (concert, fundraiser, etc.), you may not pay the tax-deductible portion of the ticket price out of your DAF, while paying the non-deductible portion out of your pocket. You may pay the full price for a sponsorship of an event – and not accept the tickets (or other substantial benefits). Then, out of your own pocket, you may buy your own entry tickets to the event at the full face-value of the ticket.
It’s a complicated issue, and sometimes even the nonprofits may (unintentionally!) lead you astray on this, but please be in touch with the DAF team if you have any questions about this issue.
For more information, or to answer any DAF-related questions, contact Ruth Bender at 415.512.6205.
