b'17FALL 2019TURNINGMARKETGAINSINTOCOMMUNITYGOOD GIVING NOW WHILE THE MARKET IS UPmakes it possible to take an income tax deduction for the full fair market value of sharesand avoid long-term capital gains tax on the appreciation.The stock market is approaching record heights, but a glance back at the NASDAQ for December 2018 suggests that the market bubble may be about to burst. That poses both a challenge and an oppor-tunity for charitably minded investors who would typically give at year-end. If donors wait too long and the market dips, then potential tax deductions and the amount available to give to charity goes down.Giving now, while the markets are still high, neutralizes this volatility. Donations of appreciated stock or mutual fund shares (held for more than a year) provide greater tax advantages than gifts of cash. The only difference is that donors are making the gifts they would normally make later in the year a few weeks earlier than planned.Why experts predict a market drop: The so-called Buffett Indicator is the ratio of the total U.S. stock market valuation to the gross domestic product(GDP) and named for master investor Warren Buffett. A measure of 100% indicates that stocks are valued fairly, while higher levels suggest that stocks may be overvalued. In 2000, at the height of the dot-com boom, the indicator set a record of 148%. On Sept. 20, 2019, the indicator had reached 144%, signaling that market declines may be about to occur.'