Supporting the causes you are passionate about—whether that’s giving back to your local community, making a social impact or showing gratitude to a hospital that cared for a loved one—can be enormously fulfilling. But did you know that charitable giving can also be a powerful financial tool?

A smart wealth management strategy

Leveraging your planned donations to benefit your overall wealth management goals is a shrewd strategy. Together, we can implement a plan that could positively impact your:

  • Income taxes – You may receive an income tax deduction and the federal gift tax doesn’t apply to charitable gifts.
  • Estate planning – Reduce your taxable estate, creating a more substantial legacy for your loved ones.
  • Investment portfolio – Diversify your investments without incurring immediate and substantial capital gains taxes.
  • Annual income – Certain strategies may produce income that exceeds previous income flows.

A case study: promoting philanthropy with a donor advised fund

Consider Roger and Kathryn Jones, an affluent couple with two young children who wanted to impart their deeply held philanthropic beliefs upon their children while reducing their taxable income. Because they wanted to donate over $50,000 over the next five years, they were able to utilize a Donor Advised Fund—a unique investment vehicle to give to charities over time while maximizing current income tax deductions. 

The Jones asked their children to each pick a personal cause that was important to them—an animal rescue and a homeless shelter—and structured $5,000 donations to each annually over the life of the fund. The family was able to tour the animal rescue and homeless shelter each year and learn how their charitable giving impacted both organizations. Additionally, the invested funds grew each year*, which enabled another year of giving—beyond the 5 years.

Getting started

If you would like to learn more about how we can make charitable giving an important part of your family legacy as well as your wealth management plan, please contact us today.