Reading roundup: What’s worth a skim to stay up to date on charitable planning

At La Crosse Area Community Foundation, we keep a close eye on trends in charitable planning that can help professional advisors better serve their clients. From donor-advised funds and business exit planning to Qualified Charitable Distributions, staying informed about emerging strategies can uncover new opportunities for both philanthropic impact and tax-efficient giving. Check out three recent articles that caught our attention and may provide valuable insights for your charitable planning conversations.

Donor-advised fund insights

Five Core Truths About Donor-Advised Funds
–WealthManagement.com

This article takes on some common misconceptions about donor-advised funds, highlighting their usefulness for coordinating charitable giving and facilitating complex gifts, their significant grantmaking to charities, and their increasingly important role in charitable and succession planning. For advisors, the takeaway is that donor-advised funds have become an increasingly important part of the philanthropic landscape—and understanding how they actually work can help clients make better charitable planning decisions. And of course, the community foundation offers donor-advised funds as part of its broad menu of charitable giving vehicles.

Business exits and opportunities

How Advanced Charitable Exit Planning Drives AUM Growth
–Financial Advisor Magazine

Business exits can be important charitable planning moments, particularly when advisors raise the subject before a transaction is already underway. This article explores how strategies involving charitable trusts, donor-advised funds, and gifts of business interests can help address a business owner’s tax and philanthropic objectives while also helping advisors deepen relationships and potentially retain more assets under management after the sale. As always, reach out to La Crosse Area Community Foundation as early as possible!

The checkbook (cringe) lives on!

Retirees Over 70½ Can Send $111,000 a Year From an IRA to Charity Tax-Free. The Average One Donates From Checking Instead.
–24/7 Wall St.

Many charitably inclined retirees are still giving from their checking accounts even though a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) may offer a more tax-efficient route for eligible IRA owners. The article is a useful reminder that advisors can add value simply by asking how a client is making charitable gifts: Sometimes changing the asset or account used to make the same gift can produce a very different tax result. As always, La Crosse Area Community Foundation can help your clients explore eligible ways to make QCD gifts, including, where appropriate, gifts to designated, field-of-interest, and unrestricted funds. Remember that QCDs cannot be made to donor-advised funds.

Thank you for checking out the articles we found interesting! La Crosse Area Community Foundation is here as a sounding board whenever those conversations arise. Please reach out to Megan Pierce, Donor Services Director any time!

 

 

 

The team at La Crosse Area Community Foundation is honored to serve as a resource as you partner with clients. This blog is provided for informational purposes only. It is not intended as legal, accounting, or financial planning advice. Please consult your tax or legal advisor to learn how this information might apply to your own situation.