Chris and LeeAnn Cheeley of Post Falls, ID established a donor-advised fund (DAF) at Innovia Foundation in 2015 with a gift of real estate. After selling their business of Verizon Wireless stores across the Pacific Northwest, the Cheeleys retained ownership of low cost-basis real estate associated with the business that had appreciated significantly in value. Instead of selling their assets and donating the proceeds, they decided to maximize their charitable giving by donating the real estate. Innovia liquidated the asset and used the value of the sale to found the Cheeley Family Fund, an endowed donor-advised fund. This allowed Chris and LeeAnn to avoid capital gains tax and keep the full value of the property to do the maximum amount of good.
Again in 2021, as the Cheeleys were selling off multiple residential properties, they decided to donate one of the properties to offset tax liabilities and increase the endowment assets in their donor-advised fund.
The Cheeleys highly recommend starting a fund with appreciated assets like real estate and stocks to help the community.
The donor-advised fund is a great tool for charitable giving because we can spread our generosity to multiple organizations over time.”
Instead of giving one large gift to a single organization, their DAF has allowed them to support many different causes over the years.
Both Chris and LeeAnn advocate for being proactive when it comes to philanthropy. LeeAnn greatly enjoys giving now, so she can see the impact within the Coeur d’Alene community. With hundreds of grants since the fund was established, the Cheeleys have passionately supported Gospel-oriented organizations and focused on helping women and children in need.
