Hello from the community foundation!
Fall is just around the corner, bringing with it a busy season for attorneys, CPAs, and financial advisors. Estate planning conversations are picking up, year-end tax planning is beginning to come into focus, and clients may be looking more closely at the assets they own and the charitable goals they hope to accomplish.
The community foundation is honored to be your first call when charitable planning opportunities arise in your work. We’re happy to share ideas to help you start deeper conversations about charitable giving, think through some less familiar assets your clients may own, and stay current on what other advisors and charitable planning professionals are talking about.
Estate planning: Go beyond the thirteen magic words
National Estate Planning Awareness Week is coming up in October, and charitable giving has been part of its focus from the very beginning. We’re highlighting thirteen simple words that can open an important conversation with your clients—and looking at why recent research suggests advisors should not stop with the first question.
What happens if your client wants to give government securities to charity?
Not all government securities are created equal when it comes to charitable giving. Learn why marketable Treasury securities and savings bonds can present very different charitable and tax planning considerations—and why identifying exactly what your client owns is an important first step before taking action.
Reading roundup: What’s worth a skim to stay up to date on charitable planning
Tech millionaires, donor-advised funds, billionaires, business exits, complex assets, QCDs—and even chickens and pigs! We’ve rounded up nine recent articles that caught our attention and offer useful insights into where charitable planning is showing up in the financial and estate planning conversations happening right now.
Thank you, as always, for the opportunity to work together. We look forward to helping you and your clients turn charitable intentions into thoughtful plans throughout the busy fall planning season ahead.
—Your community foundation
THIS MONTH’S
FEATURED ARTICLES
Estate planning: Go beyond the thirteen magic words
In 2008, the U.S. House of Representatives adopted a resolution supporting the designation of National Estate Planning Awareness Week, observed each October. You’ve likely heard of this, and you may know that October 19 through 25 is the week in 2026. Chances are, though, you’ve not recently (or ever) looked at the actual resolution. The preamble outlines several reasons why estate planning deserves this annual spotlight. Here are three worth noting:
—“Whereas careful estate planning can greatly assist Americans in preserving assets built over a lifetime for the benefit of family, heirs, or charities.”
—“Whereas estate planning involves many considerations, including safekeeping of important documents, documentation of assets, operation of law in the various States, preparation of legal instruments, insurance, availability of trust arrangements, charitable giving, inter vivos care of the benefactor, and other important factors.”
—“Whereas alternatives to disposition of assets after death, such as planned gift-giving, may accomplish a benefactor’s goal of providing for his or her family and favorite charities.”
What’s especially noteworthy is the intentional inclusion of charitable giving throughout the resolution. For attorneys, CPAs, and financial advisors, National Estate Planning Awareness Week is a good time to remind yourself to ask each client a question that can open an important dialogue sometimes overlooked in the estate planning process:
“Are there charitable causes you would like to include in your estate plan?”
Sounds simple, right? It’s just thirteen words. Still, advisors may not address charitable giving as consistently or thoroughly as clients would like, according to the 2026 TPI Study of the Philanthropic Conversation, which surveyed high-net-worth clients and wealth advisors, trust and estate attorneys, accountants, and other tax professionals.
Here’s what stands out in the findings:
—80% of HNW clients agreed that advisors have an obligation to engage them in conversations about charitable activity.
—93% of clients who discussed philanthropy with advisors considered the advisor's role important.
—While 99% were satisfied overall, only 61% reported being very satisfied with charitable planning discussions.
The key takeaway: There’s room to go deeper! Keep in mind that even clients who have never thought of themselves as philanthropists may welcome the opportunity to fully discuss and structure their charitable intentions beyond their lifetimes, such as through a charitable bequest to a favorite organization or a fund at the community foundation, or by naming a charity as the beneficiary of retirement assets. Raising the subject in more than a cursory way can also lead to broader conversations about family, values, getting the next generation involved, and legacy—conversations that deepen your understanding of what matters to your clients.
So ask the thirteen-word question—“Are there charitable causes you would like to include in your estate plan?”—but don’t stop there. If the client answers “yes,” listen closely to what they say. A smart next step in the conversation is to suggest that you involve the community foundation team as a sounding board. Our experienced professionals are here to help you and your client review giving vehicles and approaches that align with the client’s intentions while you continue to guide the overall legal, tax, and financial planning.
The team at the community foundation wants to be your first call whenever the subject of charitable giving arises with a client. Indeed, five of our favorite words to hear from tax and estate planning advisors are “Could you help us with …” We look forward to hearing from you!
What happens if your client wants to give government securities to charity?
Every day, the community foundation works with attorneys, CPAs, and financial advisors to help clients support the charities and causes they care about. Often, those conversations involve gifts of appreciated noncash assets—and this is great because of the potential tax benefits. Appreciated stock may be the first noncash asset that comes to mind, but a client’s portfolio can include many other types of investments that deserve a closer look when charitable giving is part of the plan.
Government securities are a good example. Although clients may think of these investments as a single asset category, “government securities” actually encompasses a surprisingly broad range of holdings, including Treasury bills (T-bills), Treasury notes, Treasury bonds, Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS), Series EE and Series I savings bonds, and securities issued by federal agencies and government-sponsored enterprises.
Why does that matter for charitable planning? It matters because not all government securities are created equal where charitable giving is concerned. Here are a few points to keep in mind:
—Government securities can differ significantly in how they generate income, whether they are marketable or transferable, how they are valued, and how their interest or appreciation is taxed. As a result, a charitable strategy that works for one type of government security may not work for another. And even when a government security can be transferred directly to charity, the tax results may be quite different from those associated with the more familiar gift of appreciated stock.
—This dynamic is especially striking when comparing marketable Treasury securities, which may be transferable to charity, with savings bonds, which present very different transfer and income tax issues and may be more interesting in estate planning than as lifetime charitable gifts.
—Marketable Treasury securities may be used for charitable giving, but advisors will want to look carefully at the particular security before recommending a strategy. Transfer and charitable acceptance considerations come into play, as do valuation and tax considerations. The security’s holding period, basis, fair market value, and the character of its return can all be relevant because Treasury securities may generate interest or original issue discount rather than the long-term capital appreciation that makes gifts of highly appreciated stock such a familiar charitable planning technique.
—Savings bonds present an even more distinctive situation. Unlike appreciated stock, savings bonds generally are not well suited to a straightforward lifetime charitable gift because transferring the bonds may trigger recognition of previously deferred interest.. Series EE and Series I savings bonds accumulate interest that is subject to federal income tax, and many owners defer reporting that interest until the bonds are redeemed or mature. If a client simply cashes in savings bonds during life and then contributes the proceeds to charity, the client generally recognizes the accumulated interest. In other words, the strategy does not offer the same tax advantage that may be available when a client contributes appreciated publicly traded stock directly to charity.
—This does not mean savings bonds should be ignored in charitable planning. Quite the opposite: They may be especially interesting in the overall context of a client’s estate plan. This is because accumulated interest on savings bonds can constitute income in respect of a decedent, or IRD. That means leaving savings bonds to individual beneficiaries can carry an income tax consequence in addition to transferring the underlying asset. That IRD characteristic can make savings bonds worth considering in charitable estate planning because a qualified charitable organization generally is not subject to federal income tax on income it receives in furtherance of its exempt purposes. For a client who has held savings bonds for many years, this creates a good reason to identify those assets during the estate planning process and consider whether they may be better suited for charitable purposes than other assets the client intends to leave to family members.
The larger lesson is one advisors encounter frequently in charitable planning: The asset matters! Two investments that look similar on a client’s balance sheet can produce very different tax and charitable planning results.
For all of these reasons and more, the community foundation team welcomes a call early in the process. If your client owns Treasury securities, savings bonds, or other noncash assets and has charitable intentions, please reach out before the client takes action. We are happy to work alongside you to explore whether the asset can be accepted, how a potential gift might be structured, and how the community foundation can help your client achieve charitable goals while you and the client’s other advisors address the legal, tax, and financial considerations.
Thank you for the opportunity to help you serve your clients!
Reading roundup: What’s worth a skim to stay up to date on charitable planning
The community foundation team is happy to keep an eye out for what’s trending in the field of charitable planning, especially developments that impact your work with your charitable clients and how those clients tap into tools and resources at the community foundation.
Check out the nine articles that have caught our attention recently.
Generous tech
Tech millionaires are turning to donor-advised funds to save on taxes while giving to charity
–CNBC
A wave of newly wealthy tech employees is using donor-advised funds to contribute appreciated company stock, potentially avoiding capital gains taxes, securing charitable deductions, and giving themselves time to decide which nonprofits to support. The trend is a good reminder for advisors that IPOs and other liquidity events can create significant charitable opportunities—and that the best results often come when charitable planning begins before the transaction. This is why it is crucial to reach out to the community foundation team when clients start talking about an exit, even if the exit is years away.
Philanthropy beyond DAFs
Philanthropic Planning Is Wealth Management's Next Competitive Frontier, Beyond DAFs
–InvestmentNews
Donor-advised funds are important tools, but they are not the whole philanthropic toolbox. This article explores why high-net-worth clients increasingly expect wealth advisors to help them consider a broader range of charitable structures and how that expertise can help advisors strengthen relationships not only with clients, but also with the next generation. Remember, the community foundation offers a wide range of fund types and charitable planning structures to help your clients establish a lifetime and legacy giving plan tailored to their financial and charitable goals.
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.
Even more donor-advised fund insights
Donor-Advised Fund Strategies For 2026
–Financial Advisor Magazine
This article looks at donor-advised funds through a 2026 planning lens, including how advisors can use donor-advised funds as part of broader tax and charitable strategies rather than simply as repositories for year-end gifts. The bigger opportunity is to help clients coordinate the timing, assets, and ultimate purpose of their charitable giving with the rest of their financial plans. The community foundation team plays an important role at the table to help you help your clients navigate the charitable and tax components of charitable giving.
Big givers
Chickens, Pigs Could Be Big Winners From AI’s $300 Billion Philanthropy Wave
–Forbes
The AI boom is creating a new class of young, newly wealthy donors—and potentially an enormous new pool of charitable capital. This fascinating article explores how some of these donors are gravitating toward measurable, evidence-driven causes such as farm-animal welfare, illustrating both how sudden wealth can reshape philanthropy and why advisors working with newly wealthy clients have an opportunity to help turn rapidly created fortunes into intentional charitable plans. The community foundation’s deep knowledge of local needs and nonprofits is an invaluable resource to you and your clients whether they are younger, older, newly wealthy, or well-established.
More big giving
Most Billionaires Practice ‘Slow Philanthropy.’ MacKenzie Scott Is a Major Exception
–Fortune
Why do people with enormous charitable capacity sometimes give relatively little of their wealth away each year? This article explores “slow philanthropy” and contrasts it with MacKenzie Scott’s faster, trust-based approach to giving. It raises an interesting issue for advisors: Sometimes effective charitable planning is not only about choosing the right structure or maximizing tax benefits, but also about helping clients feel comfortable actually putting charitable resources to work. The community foundation is happy to serve as your sounding board to develop a charitable plan that is designed to achieve the community impact a particular client envisions.
Celebrating a life of giving
Dolly Parton’s Other Legacy: A Fortune Given Away, Dollar by Dollar
–New York Times
Dolly Parton’s philanthropy was unusually practical and personal, directing her wealth toward needs she understood firsthand—from childhood literacy and disaster relief in Tennessee to wildlife conservation and COVID-19 vaccine research. Her approach emphasized simple, direct action, and trust in recipients—all of which are inspirational and aspirational to our community foundation team and the advisors and donors we work with!
IRS has its eyes on assets
IRS Eyes Charitable Donation Abuse in New Audits, Tax Pros Say
–Bloomberg Law
The IRS is taking a closer look at charitable contributions of hard-to-value assets, including privately held business interests and art, with tax professionals reporting particular scrutiny of valuation, qualified appraisals, and substantiation requirements. For advisors, this is an important reminder that complex charitable gifts require careful planning and documentation—and that bringing the community foundation into the conversation early can help address the charitable side of the transaction before the client takes action.
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 the 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, the 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.
What’s the takeaway here? As you skim these articles, or even just the headlines, a pattern emerges pretty quickly! Charitable planning opportunities are showing up everywhere—from newly minted tech wealth and business exits to retirement accounts, complex assets, and the rapidly evolving world of donor-advised funds. Just as important, the articles reinforce that good charitable planning is about more than finding a tax break or selecting a giving vehicle; it is about helping clients make thoughtful decisions about what to give, when to give it, and what they hope their generosity will accomplish.
The community foundation team is here as a sounding board whenever those conversations arise. Please reach out anytime!
The team at the community foundation is honored to serve as a resource and sounding board as you build your charitable plans and pursue your philanthropic objectives for making a difference in the community. This newsletter 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.