8/23/10 - The Trust's ad campaign featured on Forbes.com

Earlier this month, when 40 billionaires, prodded by Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates, announced they would donate much of their wealth to charity, Ani Hurwitz, director of communications for the New York Community Trust, saw an opportunity. After all, one of the pledge signers, Peter G. Peterson, a co-founder of The Blackstone Group, is a long-time Trust donor. So she penned an ad now running in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal with this pitch: "Why let the billionaires have all the fun?"

The ad continues: "Whatever your philanthropic passions, The New York Community Trust can help you design your own Giving Pledge. Set up a charitable fund with us and get the expert advice and support the billionaires get."

Indeed, donor-advised funds, both those run by community foundations like the Trust and those affiliated with investment firms, such as the Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund, the Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program, and the Schwab Charitable Fund, are a fine way for folks who aren't rich enough to set up their own private foundations to funnel money over time to their favorite charities.

Typically you need just $5,000 to set up a fund. Here's the key: You get a tax deduction upfront, when you put the money in the charitable fund. So you can make your gifts in the years when your income is high and you can get the most benefit from a charitable deduction. (Donating highly appreciated stock is the best way to do it, taxwise.) Then, you can dribble out the money over time to your favorite operating charities. Read full article>>