Donor Advised Fund Spotlight
Heather and Frank Williams
From L to R: Daughter-in-law Leah, son John, daughter Bethany, Heather, and Frank at Bethany's college graduation from Louisiana Tech.
What inspired you to create a donor-advised fund?
We've always been interested in sharing the blessings God has shown us and have used different ways to donate to worthy causes, but what triggered us to create this fund was the changes in the tax code. We realized that the increases in the standard deduction meant we would get a little tax benefit from donations each year. We learned that a good strategy would be to clump several years of donations into one year to take advantage of the change, then use the standard deduction in other years. At the same time, we didn't want to starve our church and others of funds for several years so the DAF made sense to us. That way our favorite causes get a consistent cash flow no matter what. We can also donate stocks and mutual funds without losing money due to taxes.
How did you learn about DAF and the Foundation?
The public outreach on Facebook and the news media by Sarah really attracted us to keep this money local.
Tell us about causes important to your family.
We have been tithing to the church for the nearly 30 years of our marriage and God has blessed us in so many ways by giving that first 10%, so between 1st United Methodist Lake Charles and campus ministries we have continued that. Also, Scouting has been a part of our lives forever and we feel led to help the youth in the community by donating to the Calcasieu Area Council to develop good citizenship, character, and leadership in our local youth. We also have used funds for different disaster recovery efforts, both hereafter Laura and in areas hit by tornadoes.
How has a DAF helped you support these causes?
By giving us a tax-free, simple way to help others. Once every year or two we transfer funds to the foundation, then simply email them whenever we need a check sent to a charity. It's so easy!
What message do you want to share to inspire?
No matter what causes you care about - your church, the homeless, community improvement, etc - you can make a positive impact and see the fruits of your donation when you give locally. We have been blessed by seeing how our donations are helping people in need today, who will in turn be able to help others in years to come.