Business Interest
Discover the giving potential of your business to maximize gospel impact and minimize tax liability.
As a business owner, you have special opportunities to make a lasting impact on God’s kingdom for years to come. Whether it’s Christ-centered company leadership, modeling generosity for your family, or treating others with integrity, each facet of your business creates an avenue for gospel outreach and transformation.
But often, there is untapped potential for business owners to make a profound difference in their business and for the missionaries and ministries they hold dear.
How We Help
With charitable tools and guidance from Cru Foundation:
You may be able to avoid unnecessary taxes.
You could free up funds for building your business.
You stand to gain greater flexibility in pursuing family financial goals.
You gain increased freedom to support ministry and accelerate the Great Commission!
What Next?
One Family's Testimony
Ed Thomas owns a real estate development business. He has a passion for fulfilling the Great Commission. He had always been generous in supporting ministry and thought he was giving as much as he could — maxed out.
But he learned about the benefits of donating business equity to Cru Foundation. He studied it, investigated, weighed the options, and prayed. He decided to go for it. And he could not be more pleased. “This is a tool to turn tax dollars into kingdom dollars,” he says.
Now, he and his children could give away a minority non-voting interest in their primary business without losing control — and gain huge tax advantages. Ed calls them “new dollars” — thanks to the tax savings — and he pours them into ministries pursuing the Great Commission.
How It Works
- The business owner donates non-controlling shares, which generates a tax deduction — it’s like taking money tax-free from the business.
- Any profit from the donated shares enjoys tax-favored status with tax rates as low as 0%.
- The donated shares are held until sold with the rest of the business (You can generally sell to whomever you want, including family members.)
- You can also reinvest tax-free cash in your business, increasing its value.
- Combined with a Donor Advised Fund, donations of business interest give flexibility to support multiple ministries!
Utilize a Donor Advised Fund
If you are thinking about selling your business, we encourage you to consider Cru Foundation’s Great Commission Donor Advised Fund. A growing number of people like you are discovering it to be the perfect solution for combining business sale planning and philanthropic goals because it minimizes (or eliminates) taxes while augmenting your ministry impact.
The percentage you choose to donate is flexible and depends on your goals, how the business is structured, and other factors. In most cases, a non-controlling interest is best.
If there is a legally binding agreement in place, it may be too late to realize all the benefits. The most common mistake we see is business owners waiting too long to make the gift ahead of a sale.
Timeline and costs can be adapted to your timeframe. The process can take as little as one week.
