Resilience, Reflection, and Charitable Giving

I hope you enjoyed a relaxing holiday season with friends and family. Moose, our French bulldog pictured below, always makes sure to get his turn for a photo opportunity in front of the Christmas tree.

As we step into 2025, it has already proven to be a year of resilience and reflection. My thoughts and love are with friends and family in Southern California, who continue to navigate challenges with strength and courage.

At Method, charitable giving is a cornerstone of our values. We often select charities to donate to on behalf of our clients, embracing a spirit of generosity and community. With this mindset, here are some key considerations to keep in mind when donating to charity:

Choose a Qualified Charity

Ensure the organization you support is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit or an equivalent tax-exempt entity. Use the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search to confirm the charity’s status.

Standard vs. Itemized Deduction

To claim charitable donations, you must itemize deductions on your tax return (Schedule A). If your total itemized deductions are less than the standard deduction ($13,850 for single filers or $27,700 for married filing jointly in 2024), it may be more advantageous to take the standard deduction.

Keep Proper Records

For Cash Donations: Retain bank records, receipts, or written acknowledgments from the charity for contributions of $250 or more.
For Non-Cash Donations: Keep detailed receipts that include the estimated fair market value of the donated items. For non-cash donations exceeding $500, complete IRS Form 8283, and for those over $5,000, obtain a professional appraisal.

Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs)

If you’re 70½ or older, you can donate up to $100,000 annually directly from your IRA to a qualified charity. These donations count toward your Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) and are excluded from taxable income, offering a smart way to give back while reducing your tax liability.

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Privacy Notice

We recognize the importance of protecting our clients’ privacy. We have policies to maintain the confidentiality and security of your nonpublic personal information. The following is designed to help you understand what information we collect from you and how we use that information to serve your account.

Categories of Information We May Collect

In the normal course of business, we may collect the following types of information:

Information you provide in the subscription documents and other forms (including name, address, social security number, date of birth, income and other financial-related information); and
Data about your transactions with us (such as the types of investments you have made and your account status).

How We Use Your Information That We Collect

Any and all nonpublic personal information that we receive with respect to our clients who are natural persons is not shared with nonaffiliated third parties which are not service providers to us without prior notice to, and consent of, such clients, unless otherwise required by law. In the normal course of business, we may disclose the kinds of nonpublic personal information listed above to nonaffiliated third-party service providers involved in servicing and administering products and services on our behalf. Our service providers include, but are not limited to, our administrator, our auditors and our legal advisor. Additionally, we may disclose such nonpublic personal information as required by law (such as to respond to a subpoena) or to satisfy a request from a regulator and/or to prevent fraud. Without limiting the foregoing, we may disclose nonpublic personal information about you to governmental entities and others in connection with meeting our obligations to prevent money laundering including, without limitation, the disclosure that may be required by the Uniting and Strengthening America Act by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT) Act of 2001 and the regulations promulgated thereunder. In addition, if we choose to dispose of our clients’ nonpublic personal information that we are not legally bound to maintain, we will do so in a manner that reasonably protects such information from unauthorized access. The same privacy policy also applies to former clients who are natural persons.

Confidentiality and Security

We restrict access to nonpublic personal information about our clients to those employees and agents who need to know that information to provide products and services to our clients. We maintain physical, electronic and procedural safeguards to protect our clients’ nonpublic personal information. We respect and value that you have entrusted us with your private financial information, and we will work diligently to maintain that trust. We are committed to preserving that trust by respecting your privacy as provided herein.