8 ms·

Credit Cards for Giving

34 points by apsec112 7y ago

smarri 7y ago
ACH is a cheap way to send money too. Not much in the way of rewards if that's your thing though.
- clintonb 7y ago
  ACH is cheap, but many banks don’t support sending transfers to random accounts owned by other entities. You typically have to do deposit verification because most banks’ offerings are intended for personal transfers. Few companies will dig into their records to find the micro-deposit amounts for you.
  - vxNsr 7y ago
    Also ACH allows two way transactions. If a company we’re to complete the deposit verification that would give you the ability to withdraw money from their account without any recourse on their part. Many banks only allow you to add ACH accounts for which you are the account holder.
    - smarri 7y ago
      Is that really the case? If I have made an ACH payment to a company they then have a unilateral right to withdraw funds from my account? A valid authorization is required for this to happen. [Edit] Plus there is recourse via disputing an unauthorized transaction, the process is well established.
      - vxNsr 7y ago
        ACH is a two-way street. when you give your routing and accounting number to your employer for direct deposit they can pull money out of your account. There have been multiple public instances of this happening due to bugs or bad software. The most recent case involved an HR startup whose founder embezzled his company's funds and thus the banks pulled back the money from the client's employee accounts. My employer's bank recently mistakenly did the DD 3 times and pulled back two of them. ACH doesn't come with two-factor auth or any sort of real safeguards, I would be very careful who I give access to.
        smarri 7y ago
        Interesting I wasn't aware of these cases. Thanks
  - smarri 7y ago
    As I understand it in 2021 these micro deposits or a similar control will become mandatory (date delayed from Jan 2020), but for the time being it's optional. I don't see why a bank won't allow an ACH payment from one account to another - that's what the system is made for right?
    - clintonb 7y ago
      The new rule only applies to debuts (e.g., you pull money from my account, rather than I push money to yours). See https://www.nacha.org/rules/supplementing-fraud-detection-standards-web-debits https://www.nacha.org/rules/supplementing-fraud-detection-st.... Most banks have some form of P2P transfer such as Zelle or Popmoney. If you want to pay a business, they push you toward a bill pay service that often mails a physical check. My guess is that ACH cuts into fees earned from wire transfers. Additionally, giving everyone the ability to send funds to any other random account increases the bad outcomes of a login being compromised, or someone inputting the wrong account number.
      - smarri 7y ago
        I think you're right on the ACH Vs Wire Fees earned by banks - from what I've seen the banks earn many many multiples on Wires. Although I understand that real time and faster payments are being explored as an alternative to Wires which may take some of this share if the schemes get the network effect via all banks signing up to it.
        clintonb 7y ago
        Yep! The big banks are signed up for RTP. We consumers should start seeing it sometime this year. https://www.theclearinghouse.org/payment-systems/rtp https://www.theclearinghouse.org/payment-systems/rtp Edit: Some customers have had access since last year: https://www.jpmorgan.com/country/US/en/detail/1320572715530 https://www.jpmorgan.com/country/US/en/detail/1320572715530.
donalhunt 7y ago
In Ireland, I try and make donations of at least €250 (usually by direct debit / bank transfer) and complete the relevant tax form so the charity can reclaim the income tax on the donation amount (increases the donation by ~ 44.9%). https://www.revenue.ie/en/personal-tax-credits-reliefs-and-exemptions/donations-and-covenants/charitable-donations/index.aspx https://www.revenue.ie/en/personal-tax-credits-reliefs-and-e...
stephencanon 7y ago
If you’re going to be making donations in the thousands-of-dollars range in the US, set up a donor-advised fund. You donate appreciated assets to the fund, and direct the fund to cut checks to the charities you want to support (this saves small local charities from having to deal with gifts of stock, while preserving your tax advantages of doing so, which far outweigh the credit card points). Many employers will match donations from a DAF that you control, so you keep that, too. We have one with vanguard charitable, which was easy to set-up and fund (minimum $25k, IIRC), but there’s several good alternatives.
- the-rc 7y ago
  To expand: the more a stock has grown since you got it, the higher the tax advantage, because you get to deduct the full market value, not the cash you're left with after capital gain taxes. So pick your lots carefully. Also, if you know in advance your income will be higher than in the future (one time events, etc.), you can transfer the shares now, invest the cash in the fund as you see fit and distribute it over the following years. Another practical benefit is that it allows you to make small donations to tens of nonprofits without fearing you'll be drowning later in fundraising letters, by virtue of not passing your home address along.
  - stephencanon 7y ago
    And also lets you make many small donations without the headache of many stock transactions to reconcile (which for me is more annoying than the letters).
- alexhutcheson 7y ago
  This is great advice. Other advantages of DAFs: - Super easy donation process - log in, search for the nonprofit you want to give to, click a couple buttons and you're done. Even lower friction than going to the nonprofit's website and entering credit card info. - If you don't already itemize your tax deductions every year, you can "bunch" several years of charitable giving into one year by contributing in advance for future years. For example, if you plan to donate $5k per year, you can contribute $15k to your DAF this year, but grant $5k out of the fund each year. You can itemize the contribution in the first year, while taking the standard deduction in the 2nd and 3rd years. - Fewer things to track and list when you do your taxes. You only need to report your contributions into the DAF (often 1 or fewer per year), so you no longer have to scour your records and record each individual charitable donation you made. [not an accountant nor a lawyer, not tax or investing advice] Vanguard, Schwab, and Fidelity all have low-cost DAF options that you can set up online in a couple minutes. Annual fees, minimum contributions, and minimum grants vary by provider so it's worth doing a little bit of research.
egdod 7y ago
Facebook already has their claws in so much of my data, why not hand over my donation history as well?
- jacobush 7y ago
  Coming soon, Facebook Birth and Life Insurance
  - ceejayoz 7y ago
    It's coming. They've just started asking for data on users' preventative care checkups. https://qz.com/1777431/facebook-is-normalizing-sharing-your-healthcare-data/ https://qz.com/1777431/facebook-is-normalizing-sharing-your-... > As a 30-year old woman, Facebook gave me a list of suggestions that included a Pap test and an HPV test. It also suggested that I get a cholesterol screening, a blood pressure test, and a flu shot. For my male counterparts, Facebook only suggests the last three.
- jefftk 7y ago
  At least for myself, I have no objection to having my donation history public: https://www.jefftk.com/donations https://www.jefftk.com/donations
  - kohtatsu 7y ago
    I'm down for having it public like that, but until everyone does perhaps it'd be best not to readily serialize it in a format for Facebook's immediate consumption.
tghw 7y ago
Don't donate through Facebook. Their processes are pretty unfriendly to the charity receiving the money. They float the money for an unspecified amount of time, which hurts charities' cash flow. They provide less donor data, so charities can't thank donors or reach out to them again in the future. And if it's a personal fundraiser, even if the money goes to charity, Facebook does charge fees. Just give directly to the charity. If you're concerned about the fees, just cover them yourself. Industry standard is 2.9% + $0.30.
- sigstoat 7y ago
  > They provide less donor data, so charities can't thank donors or reach out to them again in the future. wait, facebook does something to help me maintain my privacy? i hate giving some place $25 and then getting monthly mail for the next 10 years.
  - andrei_says_ 7y ago
    You can always unsubscribe. I prefer that option vs going through Facebook.
  - tghw 7y ago
    I was expecting this comment. Charities send mail because it helps them raise money, and it's one place that direct mail still works, and it works well. You can call the org and have them take you off their mailing list. I would just ask that if you do, also set up a recurring donation. One time donations are nice, recurring donations are better. But if you're more comfortable giving Facebook more data about you (donations contain a lot of information) but not giving that data to the charity, why are you donating to them in the first place?
    - amylene 7y ago
      Are you asking why people don’t want to sign up for getting spammed by charities? Just because it’s easy to unsubscribe doesn’t mean I want to have to do that. I just want to help out a non profit. My recurring donation is that they don’t need to waste money to spam me anymore. I’m looking you you, blood banks.
rglullis 7y ago
Even better would be to bypass the whole finance and banking sector altogether and have these charities adopting blockchain for this. A stablecoin like DAI is perfect for this on the large, and later the charities themselves could issue their own tokens and estimulate local economies

34 points by apsec112 7y ago

smarri 7y ago

ACH is a cheap way to send money too. Not much in the way of rewards if that's your thing though.

clintonb 7y ago
ACH is cheap, but many banks don’t support sending transfers to random accounts owned by other entities. You typically have to do deposit verification because most banks’ offerings are intended for personal transfers. Few companies will dig into their records to find the micro-deposit amounts for you.
- vxNsr 7y ago
  Also ACH allows two way transactions. If a company we’re to complete the deposit verification that would give you the ability to withdraw money from their account without any recourse on their part. Many banks only allow you to add ACH accounts for which you are the account holder.
  - smarri 7y ago
    Is that really the case? If I have made an ACH payment to a company they then have a unilateral right to withdraw funds from my account? A valid authorization is required for this to happen. [Edit] Plus there is recourse via disputing an unauthorized transaction, the process is well established.
    - vxNsr 7y ago
      ACH is a two-way street. when you give your routing and accounting number to your employer for direct deposit they can pull money out of your account. There have been multiple public instances of this happening due to bugs or bad software. The most recent case involved an HR startup whose founder embezzled his company's funds and thus the banks pulled back the money from the client's employee accounts. My employer's bank recently mistakenly did the DD 3 times and pulled back two of them. ACH doesn't come with two-factor auth or any sort of real safeguards, I would be very careful who I give access to.
      - smarri 7y ago
        Interesting I wasn't aware of these cases. Thanks
- smarri 7y ago
  As I understand it in 2021 these micro deposits or a similar control will become mandatory (date delayed from Jan 2020), but for the time being it's optional. I don't see why a bank won't allow an ACH payment from one account to another - that's what the system is made for right?
  - clintonb 7y ago
    The new rule only applies to debuts (e.g., you pull money from my account, rather than I push money to yours). See https://www.nacha.org/rules/supplementing-fraud-detection-standards-web-debits https://www.nacha.org/rules/supplementing-fraud-detection-st.... Most banks have some form of P2P transfer such as Zelle or Popmoney. If you want to pay a business, they push you toward a bill pay service that often mails a physical check. My guess is that ACH cuts into fees earned from wire transfers. Additionally, giving everyone the ability to send funds to any other random account increases the bad outcomes of a login being compromised, or someone inputting the wrong account number.
    - smarri 7y ago
      I think you're right on the ACH Vs Wire Fees earned by banks - from what I've seen the banks earn many many multiples on Wires. Although I understand that real time and faster payments are being explored as an alternative to Wires which may take some of this share if the schemes get the network effect via all banks signing up to it.
      - clintonb 7y ago
        Yep! The big banks are signed up for RTP. We consumers should start seeing it sometime this year. https://www.theclearinghouse.org/payment-systems/rtp https://www.theclearinghouse.org/payment-systems/rtp Edit: Some customers have had access since last year: https://www.jpmorgan.com/country/US/en/detail/1320572715530 https://www.jpmorgan.com/country/US/en/detail/1320572715530.

donalhunt 7y ago

In Ireland, I try and make donations of at least €250 (usually by direct debit / bank transfer) and complete the relevant tax form so the charity can reclaim the income tax on the donation amount (increases the donation by ~ 44.9%). https://www.revenue.ie/en/personal-tax-credits-reliefs-and-exemptions/donations-and-covenants/charitable-donations/index.aspx https://www.revenue.ie/en/personal-tax-credits-reliefs-and-e...

stephencanon 7y ago

If you’re going to be making donations in the thousands-of-dollars range in the US, set up a donor-advised fund. You donate appreciated assets to the fund, and direct the fund to cut checks to the charities you want to support (this saves small local charities from having to deal with gifts of stock, while preserving your tax advantages of doing so, which far outweigh the credit card points). Many employers will match donations from a DAF that you control, so you keep that, too. We have one with vanguard charitable, which was easy to set-up and fund (minimum $25k, IIRC), but there’s several good alternatives.

the-rc 7y ago
To expand: the more a stock has grown since you got it, the higher the tax advantage, because you get to deduct the full market value, not the cash you're left with after capital gain taxes. So pick your lots carefully. Also, if you know in advance your income will be higher than in the future (one time events, etc.), you can transfer the shares now, invest the cash in the fund as you see fit and distribute it over the following years. Another practical benefit is that it allows you to make small donations to tens of nonprofits without fearing you'll be drowning later in fundraising letters, by virtue of not passing your home address along.
- stephencanon 7y ago
  And also lets you make many small donations without the headache of many stock transactions to reconcile (which for me is more annoying than the letters).
alexhutcheson 7y ago
This is great advice. Other advantages of DAFs: - Super easy donation process - log in, search for the nonprofit you want to give to, click a couple buttons and you're done. Even lower friction than going to the nonprofit's website and entering credit card info. - If you don't already itemize your tax deductions every year, you can "bunch" several years of charitable giving into one year by contributing in advance for future years. For example, if you plan to donate $5k per year, you can contribute $15k to your DAF this year, but grant $5k out of the fund each year. You can itemize the contribution in the first year, while taking the standard deduction in the 2nd and 3rd years. - Fewer things to track and list when you do your taxes. You only need to report your contributions into the DAF (often 1 or fewer per year), so you no longer have to scour your records and record each individual charitable donation you made. [not an accountant nor a lawyer, not tax or investing advice] Vanguard, Schwab, and Fidelity all have low-cost DAF options that you can set up online in a couple minutes. Annual fees, minimum contributions, and minimum grants vary by provider so it's worth doing a little bit of research.

egdod 7y ago

Facebook already has their claws in so much of my data, why not hand over my donation history as well?

jacobush 7y ago
Coming soon, Facebook Birth and Life Insurance
- ceejayoz 7y ago
  It's coming. They've just started asking for data on users' preventative care checkups. https://qz.com/1777431/facebook-is-normalizing-sharing-your-healthcare-data/ https://qz.com/1777431/facebook-is-normalizing-sharing-your-... > As a 30-year old woman, Facebook gave me a list of suggestions that included a Pap test and an HPV test. It also suggested that I get a cholesterol screening, a blood pressure test, and a flu shot. For my male counterparts, Facebook only suggests the last three.
jefftk 7y ago
At least for myself, I have no objection to having my donation history public: https://www.jefftk.com/donations https://www.jefftk.com/donations
- kohtatsu 7y ago
  I'm down for having it public like that, but until everyone does perhaps it'd be best not to readily serialize it in a format for Facebook's immediate consumption.

tghw 7y ago

Don't donate through Facebook. Their processes are pretty unfriendly to the charity receiving the money. They float the money for an unspecified amount of time, which hurts charities' cash flow. They provide less donor data, so charities can't thank donors or reach out to them again in the future. And if it's a personal fundraiser, even if the money goes to charity, Facebook does charge fees. Just give directly to the charity. If you're concerned about the fees, just cover them yourself. Industry standard is 2.9% + $0.30.

sigstoat 7y ago
> They provide less donor data, so charities can't thank donors or reach out to them again in the future. wait, facebook does something to help me maintain my privacy? i hate giving some place $25 and then getting monthly mail for the next 10 years.
- andrei_says_ 7y ago
  You can always unsubscribe. I prefer that option vs going through Facebook.
- tghw 7y ago
  I was expecting this comment. Charities send mail because it helps them raise money, and it's one place that direct mail still works, and it works well. You can call the org and have them take you off their mailing list. I would just ask that if you do, also set up a recurring donation. One time donations are nice, recurring donations are better. But if you're more comfortable giving Facebook more data about you (donations contain a lot of information) but not giving that data to the charity, why are you donating to them in the first place?
  - amylene 7y ago
    Are you asking why people don’t want to sign up for getting spammed by charities? Just because it’s easy to unsubscribe doesn’t mean I want to have to do that. I just want to help out a non profit. My recurring donation is that they don’t need to waste money to spam me anymore. I’m looking you you, blood banks.

rglullis 7y ago

Even better would be to bypass the whole finance and banking sector altogether and have these charities adopting blockchain for this. A stablecoin like DAI is perfect for this on the large, and later the charities themselves could issue their own tokens and estimulate local economies