Strategic Giving: Tax-Wise Ways to Make an Impact

As we near the end of the year, many of our supporters are thoughtfully considering how to make the greatest impact with their giving. We’re deeply grateful that you continue to keep Opportunity International in mind as you plan your year-end giving. Your partnership makes it possible for families around the world to build sustainable livelihoods, educate their children, and break the cycle of poverty.

To help you maximize both your impact and your potential tax benefits, we’ve outlined several smart, tax-advantaged ways to give this season.

Highlights of the New Tax Laws Enacted in July 2025

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA or Act) was signed into law by President Trump on July 4, 2025. New provisions include:

• Beginning in 2026, taxpayers who do not itemize can deduct up to $1,000 (single filers) or $2,000 (joint filers) in cash donations to qualified 501(c)3 public charities. Donations to donor-advised funds, private foundations, and supporting organizations are excluded.
  
  
• A new tax credit was created for up to $1,700 for individuals making charitable contributions to public charities that provide scholarships to qualifying elementary and secondary school students. To qualify for the scholarships, students must come from households with incomes below 300% of the area's median gross income and must be eligible to enroll in a public elementary or secondary school. This provision is effective for taxable years beginning after Dec. 31, 2026.
  
  
• New Charitable Deduction Floor: Individual taxpayers who do itemize must exceed 0.5% of AGI before any charitable donation qualifies for a deduction. This replaces the prior "no floor" structure and creates a modest threshold before deductions apply. For example: If your AGI is $100,000, the first $500 of charitable contributions ($100,000 x 0.5%) would not be deductible. Only giving above that amount would qualify for a charitable deduction—if you contributed $5,000 to charity, $4,500 would be deductible. This rule applies beginning with the 2026 tax year.
  
  
• The law permanently extends the rule allowing cash contributions to qualified public charities to be deductible up to 60% of a taxpayer’s AGI (Adjusted Gross Income) in a given year. This rule applies beginning with 2026 tax year.

Provisions That Will Continue

• Donated Appreciated Assets (i.e. stocks): A simple strategy for boosting your donation and your tax deduction is to give stock, bonds or other appreciated securities directly to the charity. If you sell an appreciated stock or bond to pay for a charitable gift, you may owe capital gains tax. But if you gift the appreciated investment directly to charity instead, you and the charity avoid the capital gains tax.
  
  
• Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCDs): The IRA Charitable Rollover rule enables people age 70½ and older to make qualified charitable distributions (up to $105,000) from IRA accounts. 
  
  There are many benefits to IRA charitable distributions, including: 
  • Avoiding taxes on transfers of up to $108,000 from your IRA to Opportunity International ($216,000 for married couples)
  • Satisfying your required minimum distribution (RMD) for the year
  • Reducing your taxable income, especially if you take the standard deduction
  • Making a gift that is not subject to the deduction limits on charitable gifts
    
    
• Donor Advised Funds: A DAF is a charitable giving vehicle which may assist with “bunching” of charitable contributions into a given year. This can be useful when you are able to make a donation but have yet to determine the timing of the distributions out of the donor-advised fund or what charities will receive the gift. A donor-advised fund allows donors to receive a deduction for contributions made to the DAF during the year. The funds grow tax free within the DAF account. In most cases, the donor maintains discretion about when the assets are distributed to charities.
  
  If a person is expecting a high-income year, then setting up a donor-advised fund (DAF) might be a great option. Opportunity offers the option to open a Donor Advised Fund directly with us. We do not charge administrative fees; we only ask that a one-time portion of funds be allocated to Opportunity International, so your donations go further.
  
  Please note, it can take up to two weeks for DAFs to process disbursements. With this in mind, we encourage you to submit your requests to your DAF as soon as possible so your charitable organizations can receive the funds by year-end.

Reaching Your Goals

Please reach out to me at [email protected] or 312-487-5018 if you have any questions about any giving methods. Our goal is to make it as seamless as possible for you to make an impact at year-end.

As always, you can make a donation as cash, pledge, or stock here. If you prefer to send a check, please mail it to:

Opportunity International
PO Box 2826
Carol Stream, IL 60132-2826

Thank you for stewarding your resources to help those living in extreme poverty. We could not do it without you.