Large charitable gifts have little to do with calendar

Large charitable gifts have little to do with calendar:

"Is there a reason all of these major gifts came at the end of the year? There is, but it's not the income tax deduction that makes December charitable giving so popular for Joe Taxpayer. In the case of non profit foundations -- such as Mellon and Hillman -- they must give away at least 5 percent of their assets annually, a requirement from the Internal Revenue Service, in exchange for tax exempt status, said Reed Smith partner Carolyn Duronio, who works with public charities and private foundations. If a foundation falls short of the 5 percent requirement, it has 12 months to make it up. Failure to do so results in an excise tax."