December has a lot going on – not the least of which is giving. 

I am guessing that if you have a Required Minimum Distribution for your IRA, you have already either taken it or done a Qualified Charitable Distribution.  If, however, that is still on your December calendar, know that you can give all or a portion of your Required Minimum Distribution directly to your church or your endowment fund at the Desert Southwest United Methodist Foundation.  Time is of the essence; give me a call if you need help.

The other most popular gift in December is a gift of stock.  And again, the calendar pages are flipping.  This might be the year you want to be especially generous with your gift of stock.  If you itemize your income tax, your charitable gifts will have some limitations in 2026 that they don’t have this year.  You’ll want to visit with your broker or tax advisor for the specifics of how the changes via the One Big Beautiful Bill Act will affect you.

When you make a gift of stock to benefit your church through the Desert Southwest United Methodist Foundation, there is no charge for that service.  The Foundation absorbs all the costs associated with the gift and your church gets the exact amount the stock sells for. 

And, of course, there are the usual benefits of making a gift of appreciated stock:  because the Foundation and your church are tax-exempt, your gift of stock avoids capital gains tax.  And if you itemize your income taxes, you get to deduct the full fair market value of the stock gift.

Our stock gifts are handled by Wespath and their cut-off for gifts of stock is December 15.

Finally, if you have a Donor Advised Fund, and want to use it to make a gift to your church or an endowment, contact your Donor Advised Fund holder right away to make sure the gift goes out in this calendar year.

Desert Southwest United Methodist Foundation is here to help you be wise about your generosity.  Let us know how we can help.  And enjoy the holidays in this season of giving.

Blessings,



Anne Green
Executive Director
602-798-8202
agreen@dsumf.org