There are a variety of ways that donations can be made to support the mission of Trinity and still obtain a tax deduction under the new Federal tax law. However, increases in the Standard Deduction will mean that itemizing deductions will become less advantageous for some.
For Tax Year 2018 the Standard Deduction has been raised to $12,000 for individuals and $24,000 for couples, so it is likely that some seniors will not be able to exceed that threshold by itemizing their deductions on Schedule B, especially given new limitations or outright elimination of deductions such as state income and sales taxes, property taxes, mortgage interest, and miscellaneous items, etc. This means that the ability to deduct charitable giving in the conventional manner will also be eliminated for many.
However, seniors over 70+1/2 who are required to take a Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) from a taxable retirement fund such as a Traditional IRA and who are likely to use the new (higher) Standard Deduction on their Federal Taxes for 2018 and beyond can still benefit by directing some or all of an RMD as a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) to one or more charities.
As in previous years, the potential savings for giving in this manner would range from a few hundred dollars to several hundred dollars or more depending on the tax bracket and, of course, the gift size. Forms for directing charitable gifts from a Traditional IRA or other taxable retirement funds are available from the plan provider holding your IRA (i.e. your bank or investment firm).
If you still have questions, feel free to talk to anyone on the Finance Committee.