FAQs

The nonprofit world is a significant economic force in America that employs approximately 12-14% of the nation’s workforce. Last year nearly $600 billion of total giving made its way to almost 1.4 million public charities whose programs relieve national, state and local governments from of a wide array of services.

At the same time, real estate (the nation’s largest asset class) comprises over 40% of America’s wealth. Yet less than 2.0% of American’s generosity comes from gifts of real estate. Nonprofits large and small have stated that real estate is too complex, too risky and too expensive to carry until a sale and most will say “no thank you”. In fact, most nonprofits won’t even ask for a gift of real estate.

Realty Gift Fund was founded by real estate professionals with 145 years of combined experience with investing, developing, and brokering properties of all types across many markets. Also, each of the founders has served on the boards of local non-profits and are committed to giving back.

Our goal is to bridge the disconnect between real estate and fundraising and get all nonprofits to start asking for gifts of real estate.

RGF received its public charity determination letter from the IRS on September 18, 2001. It was converted to a Private Operating Foundation in 2017 in recognition that RGF accepts gifts with a very wide range of values. As a POF, RGF still provides donors the same benefits as a public charity.

Yes. The other half of our mission is to educate the nonprofit world on how gifts of real estate are processed and making an impact. We are sponsors and speakers at national conferences, host webinars, participate in roundtables and panel discussions, participate in podcasts, radio and television interviews, and present at smaller lunch & learns. We produce white papers and videos on many of the relevant topics and our educational content is available to everyone for free. Write us at Info@RealtyGiftFund.org if you would like to schedule an educational session for your organization.

See “Steps to a Donation” on our website and please call us to discuss your circumstances. We are always just a phone call away and always answer our phones.

The RGF gifting process is designed to be safe and simple, no matter the complexity of the property.

From the date of signing a donation agreement, RGF can relieve the donor of every step, from the donation through marketing and sale. Our local teams include licensed brokers who serve as our boots on the ground, title companies who organize accurate and timely closings, and notaries who (if needed) will come to your door for the convenient signing of papers when the donation step is closed and recorded.

In most cases, the donor will pay only for the appraisal required by the IRS that determines the donor’s tax deduction. RGF will fund every other cost, including partial cash payments; debt payoff; and donation, holding, repair, and sale costs.

100% of the net proceeds from an eventual sale are delivered to the nonprofit world within 24 hours of completing the sale.

Nonprofits pay nothing, sign nothing, and have no transactional obligations. This risk-free platform is intended to overcome restrictions on acceptance policies and motivate all nonprofits to start asking for charitable gifts from America’s largest asset class.

Just write to info@RealtyGiftFund.org or call to (505) 660-8470. We’re very responsive. Let us learn more about you. We’re good listeners, want to know what matters to you, and will discuss your goals, timing, and potential outcome.

RGF never provides tax or legal advice. The laws related to charitable giving comprise a specialized practice, and each transaction will be unique. We can discuss the general principles of the tax benefits, but we require every donor to obtain independent advice from qualified legal and tax professionals who can design specific tax outcomes to each unique circumstance.

A property owner cannot donate a property if there is already a signed written contract to sell the property to another buyer. If this is your circumstance, please call us.

This will vary, but the typical time to close a donation (the charitable gift) is 21 to 45 days from the date of the donation agreement. The typical time to close the sale (the charitable funds) can range from an additional 10 to 60 days.

While we will consider any donation offered before the year’s end, we strongly encourage you to contact RGF no later than November 15th. We need to complete our due diligence and navigate the holidays, but we are highly sensitive to our donor’s needs.

We are not geographically bound, will transact business in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, and areas outside the U.S.

RGF accepts property of any type, anywhere, subject to a thoughtful evaluation on a case-by-case basis. We will consider any type of property, including developed or undeveloped land, agricultural and ranch properties, the full range of commercial, industrial, hospitality, and healthcare properties, and the full range of residential properties including single-family homes, multifamily homes, condominiums, and co-ops.

RGF can accept tenant occupied properties, debt encumbered properties, properties requiring repairs to prepare for sale, and properties with unique problems that our experience may be able to solve. We accept outright donations, bargain sales, partial interests, and bequests of any value or size, but we do not accept timeshares. Call us and tell us what you have. It’s quite possible we will be interested.

Absolutely. Many of our donors fund new or existing Donor Advised Funds with the grants produced by RGF. If you are considering a new DAF, we encourage you to discuss the specifics with your financial advisor or call us to learn more.

You can. However, most public charities cannot accept a complex gift, and statistics show that gifts of real estate are too risky for most non-profits who are referring real estate gifts to a specialized nonprofit like Realty Gift Fund, who will work directly with the donor to repair and sell the property to produce the funds intended for the nonprofit. We are often described as “the real estate team down the hall”.

There are two determinations of value. The first is a current appraisal, considered by the IRS as the property’s official “fair market value” that serves as the basis of the donor’s tax deduction. Since it is used solely by the donor it is the donor’s obligation to pay for the appraisal, most often the donor’s only cost. The second is the value at which RGF sells the property, which produces the charitable funds from which RGF makes grants to other nonprofits. These two values may not be the same. It is our experience that as long as the difference is reasonable, the appraised value will serve as the basis of the tax deduction whether or not the sale value is higher or lower.

The “effective date” of donor’s appraisal must be no earlier than sixty (60) days prior to the donation closing date, i.e. the date of the deed transfer to RGF. An appraisal may be obtained after the donation closing date, provided the report is delivered prior to filing your tax return that pertains to the year of the gift. If the appraised value of your deduction is $500,000 or higher, you will need to include your appraisal report as an addendum to your tax return. Please search in your URL for “IRS Form 8283” for a sample form and related instructions.

100% of the net proceeds from the sale of donated properties goes to the nonprofit world. RGF is one of those nonprofits and retains a small amount for its own operations. This amount is determined by the size and complexity of each deal, subject to a $20,000 minimum, and is disclosed in our Net Gift Estimate which we deliver to every donor at an early point in the evaluation process following the initial call with the donor.

Due to our decades of investment experience, we routinely produce higher outcomes than others, particularly on smaller donations. On donations of an average size or above we are recognized as the most affordable alternative. There is no reason not to inquire. All our evaluations are free with no strings attached.

No. The only cost to a donor is to obtain a qualified appraisal which can be initiated before or after the donation agreement has been signed. RGF will fund every other cost from initial evaluation to sale and be reimbursed from sale proceeds, whenever the sale occurs.

Either the donor or RGF can pay off the mortgage so that title to the gift can pass to RGF “free and clear” of any liens. In the latter case, the donation will be a “Bargain Sale”, a popular type of donation that is part sale, part gift. The sale part, paid by RGF “on behalf of” the donor, is taxable to the donor. The gift part passes to RGF free of capital gain tax and is the value of the donor’s tax deduction.

RGF does not give tax advice but, in our experience, the following generally applies: the gift portion of a donation can be deducted from 30% of a donor’s Adjusted Gross Income in the year of the gift, plus five additional years, if needed, until the total tax deduction is used. For corporations, the deduction applies against 10% of its taxable income.

Yes, on a prorated basis, based on the percentage share of the cash payment to the property’s total appraised value. For example, if a partial cash payment is equal to 20% of the property’s appraised value, 20% of the adjusted tax basis and recaptured depreciation might be deducted from the cash payment to determine the donor’s taxable gain. Taxes associated with other 80%, the charitable gift, should be eliminated. IT IS ESSENTIAL that donors to seek qualified legal and tax advice to understand the true outcome of any donation including the corresponding tax benefits.