HOW DO I LINK A CHARITABLE INVESTMENT ACCOUNT TO A CASH ACCOUNT?

KlisterKid

With the advent of donor advised funds, I have to transfer the cash and stocks to a special fund. I can do that. But how do I show the various grants I give to charities? I can't seem to create a spending account for that (or else I'm having yet another "senior moment". :-)

Frankx

Hi again @William Aldrich

If I understand you correctly (and I apologize if I don't have this right) I think that you are indicating that you are not able to find the "security" for one of the Schwab funds that represents an investment made by the DAF. 

This is not all that unusual.  I have found that often the fund companies that administer these DAF's often use separate "private" funds (as opposed to the "public" funds that they offer to the masses for their investments) as the exclusive investment available to DAF funds.  If that is what you are encountering, you will be unable to download prices for these funds for import into Quicken.  The workaround for this is to treat these as private funds (not downloadable) and enter the prices of these funds manually into Quicken.  The prices are usually available of the DAF website.  This is less than optimal, but the workaround should enable you to track the value these investments on at least a periodic basis.

If I am reading this wrong, let me know and I'll try to provide additional assistance.

Frankx

Chris_QPW

If you are looking for the "Show cash in a checking account" option in the Account Details, that option is only available if the account type is Brokerage, it can't be any kind of tax deferred account type.

Frankx

Hi @William Aldrich,

The method that I suggest to folks who have Donor Advised Fund's (DAF's) is to set-up a new "Investing" type account in Quicken (on the date that the DAF is established), but to mark it as a "Separate" account. 

To mark it Separate - you'll need to:

1) Open the account in Quicken > click on the "Gear" icon in the upper right and select "Edit Account Details";
2) In the "Account Details" pop-up > select the "Display Options" tab;
3) in the "Display Options" tab > check the box next to "Keep this account separate-account will be excluded from Quicken reports and features.

The DAF account itself should then be used to record the transactions (gifts) that are made by the DAF to various charities through register entries.

Let me know if you have any followups.

Frankx

NotACPA

And, adding to @Frankx's reply, you can run a report on ONLY that separate DAF account, and subtotal by payee to see how much you're giving to each organization.

ALSO, set the Tax Attributes for that DAF account so that "Transfers In" are marked at Charitable donaitons.

KlisterKid

NotACPA ... thanks for your help! I also added to Transfers Out: "1099-R: Total IRA distribution"
To make an entry simpler in your answer, I would have used: Transfers In: "Schedule A: Cash Charity Contributions"; but i'm being picky so others don't have to strain their eyes scrolling through the options. smiley:

KlisterKid

Frankx> @Frankx said:
> Hi @William Aldrich,
>
> The method that I suggest to folks who have Donor Advised Fund's (DAF's) is to set-up a new "Investing" type account in Quicken (on the date that the DAF is established), but to mark it as a "Separate" account. 
>
> To mark it Separate - you'll need to:
>
> 1) Open the account in Quicken > click on the "Gear" icon in the upper right and select "Edit Account Details";
> 2) In the "Account Details" pop-up > select the "Display Options" tab;
> 3) in the "Display Options" tab > check the box next to "Keep this account separate-account will be excluded from Quicken reports and features.
>
> The DAF account itself should then be used to record the transactions (gifts) that are made by the DAF to various charities through register entries.
>
> Let me know if you have any followups.
>
> Frankx

Great stuff, Frank, THANKS; however, when I try to run a security report on one of the funds that Schwab creates for the DAF it runs for those who use a DAF, I can't seem to get a security report on a fund. I might have missed something because it's late at night but I tried several values for one of the funds. I see Qkn "thinking" and then I get the "Qkn cannot find ...".

Frankx

Hi again @William Aldrich

If I understand you correctly (and I apologize if I don't have this right) I think that you are indicating that you are not able to find the "security" for one of the Schwab funds that represents an investment made by the DAF. 

This is not all that unusual.  I have found that often the fund companies that administer these DAF's often use separate "private" funds (as opposed to the "public" funds that they offer to the masses for their investments) as the exclusive investment available to DAF funds.  If that is what you are encountering, you will be unable to download prices for these funds for import into Quicken.  The workaround for this is to treat these as private funds (not downloadable) and enter the prices of these funds manually into Quicken.  The prices are usually available of the DAF website.  This is less than optimal, but the workaround should enable you to track the value these investments on at least a periodic basis.

If I am reading this wrong, let me know and I'll try to provide additional assistance.

Frankx