Smart Giving Before Dec. 31
Transform a Girl’s Future
Maximize your 2025 tax benefits while expanding access to a tuition-free, transformative education for girls in Lawrence
Why Your Year-End Gift Matters Now
Esperanza Academy is a tuition-free, independent, all-girls middle school in Lawrence, MA. Every gift you make helps disrupt cycles of poverty, expand opportunity, and ensure our students and alumni have the resources they need to learn, lead, and thrive.
Your 2025 gift doesn’t just reduce your tax burden—it invests directly in educational equity for girls who have been historically underserved.
Smart Ways to Give in 2025
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Make an immediate, flexible gift that supports our greatest needs and is deductible up to 60% of your AGI.
Gifts made by December 31, 2025 can be claimed on your 2025 return.
Itemizers may deduct cash gifts to Esperanza up to 60% of AGI; excess can carry forward up to 5 years.
Unrestricted cash gifts help keep our school tuition-free and responsive to student needs.
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Avoid capital gains and deduct the full fair-market value of long-term appreciated assets (up to 30% of AGI).
Avoid capital gains tax on long-term appreciated assets.
Deduct the fair-market value of the asset (held > 1 year), up to 30% of AGI.
This is one of the most tax-efficient ways to give and often increases your impact 20–30%.
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If you’re 70½ or older, give directly from your IRA, satisfy your RMD, and reduce your taxable income.
If you are 70½ or older, you can give up to $105,000 in 2025 directly from your IRA to Esperanza as a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD).
QCDs can satisfy your Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) and are excluded from taxable income.
This strategy is especially powerful if you don’t itemize or want to minimize your AGI.
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Recommend a grant from your donor-advised fund to support Esperanza’s students this year.
Recommend a grant to Esperanza from Fidelity, Schwab, Vanguard, or your community foundation.
Your original contribution has already provided tax benefits; your 2025 DAF grant moves resources to students now.
Ideal if you want simplicity, anonymity, or already “parked” charitable funds for 2025.
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Double or triple your impact with your company’s matching gift program.
Many companies match employee and retiree gifts 1:1 or 2:1.
Some also match volunteer hours.
Submitting a match request can multiply your investment in our students at no extra cost to you.
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Include Esperanza in your will, trust, or beneficiary designations to uplift future generations.
Non-cash gifts may include real estate, business interests, cryptocurrency, and personal property (subject to review).
Legacy and planned gifts—through your will, trust, or beneficiary designations—help secure Esperanza’s long-term future.
Choose the Level of Impact That’s Right for You
Your gift—of any size—makes a measurable difference:
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$250
Books, supplies, and essential classroom materials
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$1,000
After-school tutoring and academic intervention supports
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$5,000
Core program operations and student wellness services
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$10,000+
Faculty capacity, wrap-around services and supports, and alumni programming
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$25,000+
Transitional support as we prepare for our new school building in 2026
FAQ’s
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Charitable gifts made before December 31, 2025 may offer stronger tax advantages depending on your giving strategy and financial situation. Many donors choose to give before year-end because certain charitable tools—such as gifts of appreciated stock, IRA distributions, or donor-advised fund grants—can reduce taxable income, avoid capital gains, or increase the deductibility of your annual giving.
No matter the amount, every donor and every gift can benefit from giving before December 31.
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Bunching” is a strategy where donors combine several years of charitable donations into a single tax year to potentially increase their overall tax benefit. This can be especially helpful for donors whose annual giving, combined with other deductions, may fall below the threshold needed to itemize.
If you are considering a larger gift—or want to maximize your tax efficiency—bunching your contributions into 2025 may be worth discussing with your financial advisor.
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Esperanza can accept a variety of tax-efficient gifts, including:
Cash contributions
Appreciated securities or mutual funds (often more tax-advantageous than cash)
Gifts from a Donor-Advised Fund (DAF)
Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) from IRAs for donors 70½+
Corporate matching gifts
Non-cash or illiquid assets, such as real estate, privately held business interests, or cryptocurrency (subject to review)
These options often provide significant tax savings while allowing you to make a larger impact.
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For every contribution, Esperanza will provide a formal tax acknowledgment letter that includes:
The date of your gift
The amount (or a description of non-cash assets)
A statement confirming that no goods or services were provided in exchange for your donation
This letter serves as your official documentation for tax purposes. For complex or non-cash gifts, we can also coordinate with your financial advisor to ensure you have any additional information needed.
Disclaimer: This information is not intended as legal or tax advice. Please consult your financial advisor or tax professional to determine how these strategies apply to your individual situation.
Give before December 31, 2025 to maximize your tax benefits and ensure Esperanza students and alumni begin the new year with the resources they need to thrive.