DECEMBER 26 • 2019 | 17

Tax-Smart 
Charitable Giving
Michigan Hillel and Telemus team 
up for educational webinar.
T

here’
s a reason they 
call this the “giving 
season.
” According 
to the experts, more than 30 
percent of all charitable giving 
takes place during the month 
of December with 10 percent 
happening in the last three 
days of the year. 
With that in mind, 
Michigan Hillel, the largest 
Jewish student organization 
at the University of Michigan, 
teamed up with Southfield-
based financial advisory and 
investment management firm, 
Telemus, to provide a crash 
course on year-end tax plan-
ning and charitable giving. 
About 100 participants 
locally and across the country 
signed up online for the edu-
cational webinar.
“Telemus has always been 
focused on giving back to our 
community both monetari-
ly as well as with our time,
” 
said Bob Stone, 
a Telemus senior 
financial life offi-
cer and immedi-
ate past chairman 
of Michigan 
Hillel’
s Board of 
Trustees. “We 
were approached by Michigan 
Hillel to put on the webinar 
and we were more than happy 
to help.
”
Added Michigan Hillel’
s 
Director of Advancement 
Stacy Carroll, 
“We have wanted 
to creatively help 
our supporters 
make the most 
of their phil-
anthropic and 
financial interests 
for some time now. This is the 
first time we’
ve done some-

thing like this, and it was a 
great success.
”
The webinar was led by 
Andy Bass, chief wealth officer 
at Telemus, who talked about 
changes in the tax laws and 
how charitable deductions can 
figure into a year-end plan-
ning strategy.
“Charitable 
deductions are 
truly one of the 
last discretion-
ary deductions 
allowable under 
the law,
” Bass 
explained. “
Any excess con-
tributions that you’
ve given 
are allowed to be carried for-
ward for up to five years and 
deducted in the future.
”
Bass also described how 
IRA distributions can be paid 
directly to a charity for those 
age 70 and a half and older. 
Other ideas discussed includ-
ed:
• Contributing to a Donor 
Advised Fund (DAF) that 
enables you to donate money 
in one year and use it in future 
years to fund charitable needs.
• Donating appreciated 
assets, like stock, instead of 
cash, which is an after-tax 
asset.
• “Bunching” — or making 
at least two years’
 worth of 
donations in one.
“There are much more tax 
efficient ways to make your 
donations other than cash,
” 
Bass said. “They’
re very pow-
erful tools and I hope you 
consider these creative ways of 
giving as you approach your 
year-end giving this year.
” 

To watch the full webinar free of 
charge, visit telemus.com. For more 
information about Michigan Hillel or 
to donate, visit michiganhillel.org.

ROBIN SCHWARTZ CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Bob Stone

Stacy Carroll

Andy Bass