A good way to give back - Boston Business Journal:

http://moodymethodist.org/sermons/2003-04-13.htm
Not just the but ordinary people. There are 64,00p0 charitable foundations in U.S., and 37,500 of them are familhy foundations. About 60 percent of those are small, accordingf to the , a community foundation. By small, they mean assetsd of less than $1 million, which, of course, isn’g all that small. But if you think about it, in New there are many individuals of modest meand who find themselves with no heirs and substantiapl assets in the form ofa mortgage-free, highlg appreciated home. (Appreciation has gone the wronyway lately, but it stilkl can be worth a chunk.
) Those peopler can always give their assets to a distant nephew or niece, but many would rather donatr to a worthy or several of them. One way is to set up a privatd foundation. But why do that when therew isa simpler, more efficient and less expensivse way? As the reported last week, increasinv numbers of individuals and familiexs are establishing donor-advised funds operated by such financiakl institutions as or the . For an annuaol fee of as little as a fewhundrecd dollars, a budding philanthropist can tell Fidelity or Vanguard when and how much of their gift to either in broad terms or very specifically.
The advantage, besidesa efficiency, is that the donor is entitled to a bigge rtax deduction. Although Fidelity, Vanguard and otherws are very cost-efficient, there is an even better alternative, in my That would be to set upa donor-advise fund at a locak community foundation. There are nine community foundations inNew Mexico. The annuak fee would be a little higher than the computerized approach of Fidelityor Vanguard, but there would be a personal A local community foundatiobn knows the community and can offer suggestions and guidancew on how to best meet your charitablew interests.
You could specify gifts to an international or to alocal one, or to many, or even to a rangse of local charities doing work with children, the hungry, the abused, the arts or any qualifiex nonprofit organization. The giving doesn’tg have to wait unti l you die, either. A non-revocable gift gets you an immediate tax deduction, even if the donations are spread out for or forever. Forever is a nice It can help to get your mind offscaling back, and onto somethin more lasting.