Meggin McIntosh Knows Donor Advised Funds Enhance Giving

Meggin McIntosh, a coach, author, workshop leader, and award-winning professor, became a donor advised fund holder with the Community Foundation in December 2019.

Meggin’s brother is her financial advisor and enthusiastically recommended she start a donor advised fund. Doing so by year-end would maximize her tax deduction for the year while allowing her to give to her favorite charitable organizations over time.

Meggin knew there were many available choices for donor advised funds. Still, she looked specifically for a community foundation to facilitate her philanthropy.

Her husband has a scholarship fund with the Oklahoma City Community Foundation. The couple was familiar with the community foundation model and understood the unique value that a community foundation brings to a region. Working with the Community Foundation for their philanthropy, their fund fee supports initiatives and collaborations, something a commercial fund does not do. Keeping local philanthropic capital in our region is a benefit to all residents.

The new year was fast approaching, and time was running short to receive the tax deduction for 2019.

She made a quick Google search and reviewed our website, nevadafund.org. Meggin connected with Philanthropic Advisor Lyndsey Crossley and worked out the arrangements to establish a donor advised fund over the phone. The Community Foundation makes opening and funding a donor advised fund quick and straightforward. She signed the fund agreement and emailed it back. The only remaining step was to transfer her stock to the Community Foundation using a simple form. Most donors enjoy deciding on a name for their fund. In her case, the Meggin McIntosh Women Who Persevere Fund describes both the inspiration for her giving and her granting focus. When asked about her fund's unusual name, Meggin said,

"It was not always easy for me, and I knew early on after I paid off my student loans that I wanted to be able to give back. I like to give a boost to women who do not give up – to let them know that somebody sees them and cares."

Meggin liked that the process was time-sensitive and personal. The best part was that grants were sent out in her fund's name to her favorite organizations two days before Christmas.