Turning intent into impact 

If you encounter any situation with a client where charitable giving could be involved, please reach out to the Foundation! Our team is happy to serve as a sounding board for any matter related to philanthropy. To give you a sense for the specific client needs we can help address, here are three scenarios that are frequently the subject of our conversations with attorneys, CPAs, and financial advisors.  

Scenario #1 

Client profile 
A couple in their mid-50s supports many different charities throughout the year. 

Goals 
The couple wants to ease the transactional burden of charitable giving and maximize tax benefits. 

Possible solution 
A donor-advised fund at the Foundation can be an excellent tool to help these clients organize their giving to favorite charities, such as local organizations, places of worship, and an out-of-state alma mater. Clients appreciate how easy it is to support multiple charities while the Foundation’s systems keep track of everything. Plus, clients can give stock and other appreciated assets to their donor-advised funds, often avoiding capital gains tax and simplifying the tax receipts they provide to CPAs and other advisors when tax time rolls around.  

Scenario #2 

Client profile 
A retired widower’s primary charitable interest is supporting a local college. 

Goals 
The client wants to provide long-term support for the college but with safeguards in case the college gets into financial trouble.  

Possible solution 
Through a designated fund at the Foundation, this client can make tax-deductible gifts–during life and through estate gifts–that are set aside to be used exclusively for a particular organization. The Foundation makes distributions from the fund according to the client’s wishes. An advantage of a designated fund is that the assets are out of creditors’ reach if the charity were to run into financial trouble. Plus, a client who is 70 ½ or older can make Qualified Charitable Distributions up to $108,000 per year (that’s the 2025 limit) from IRAs to a designated fund.  

Scenario #3 

Client profile 
A couple in their mid-60s have realized that they’ve more than achieved their retirement savings goals. 

Goals 
The client wants to leave a meaningful legacy to favorite charitable causes while still providing for heirs.  

Possible solution 
By naming a fund at the Foundation as the beneficiary of one or more qualified retirement plans and IRAs, these clients could achieve extremely tax-efficient results. Not only is estate tax avoided on the retirement assets flowing to the charitable fund, but income tax is also avoided. Indeed, the income tax hit on retirement proceeds left to heirs can be steep.  

As you encounter these and other scenarios, please reach out! Most of the time, the Foundation can offer a solution that meets both the client’s tax and estate planning goals and the client’s objectives for supporting their favorite charities. At the very least, we can point you in the right direction. 

Pictured: Melissa Sprinkle of Harrison LLP