The end of the year is a busy time for nonprofits. More than one-quarter of all charitable contributions are made every December.
Contributions are deductible in the year you make them, so be sure and get your gift in by December 31. That means that credit card charges made before the end of the year are deductible, even if you don’t pay the credit card bill until next year. Similarly, checks written and mailed by the end of the year will be deductible for this year, even if cashed in 2016.
To help you plan your year-end donations to United Way — and meet the December 31 deadline for tax deductions — we’d like to share with you the following tips and deadlines.
Making a gift by check
To make a donation by check for the 2015 tax year, please mail or deliver the check to the address below no later than 4:30 p.m. on December 31, 2015. Envelopes postmarked by December 31 will qualify as gifts made in 2015.
United Way of East Central Iowa
317 7th Avenue SE #401
Cedar Rapids, IA 52402
Making a gift online by credit card
Gifts by credit card are complete when your credit card account is charged. You can make an immediate gift with your credit card on our website at uweci.org/donate. Donations made by 11:59 p.m. central time on December 31, 2015 will count in the 2015 tax year.
Making a credit card gift by phone
To make a credit card gift by phone, call us at 319-398-5372 by 4:15 p.m. on December 31. Note that we can’t process credit card payments from voicemail messages and can’t guarantee instructions left as voicemails will process on time to count as 2015 gifts. If donating by phone, please be sure to speak with a United Way staff member.
Gifts of securities
Your electronic transfer of securities from a brokerage account is complete when the securities are been received by an account owned by United Way. These gifts will not be complete at the time of giving instructions to a broker.
Transfer gifts of securities to the United Way brokerage account by market closing time at 3 p.m. on Thursday, December 31, 2015. Please contact Abbie Covenah at 319-398-5372 ext. 827 if your broker needs our Depository Trust Company (DTC) instructions.
Making a pledge online
You can fill out our electronic pledge form online here and email to jennifer.schulte@uweci.org. Just like pledges made during workplace campaigns, you actually won’t pay this pledge until 2016. That means this donation will count in the 2016 tax year.