The holidays are a time to celebrate, reflect, and show gratitude for the past year. It’s also a great time to consider how you can share with others and create moments of joy beyond your own circle of loved ones.
This season is also an opportunity for you to give back in ways that resonate with you and your family, and leave a lasting, positive impact on your community and the world around you.
Charitable giving isn’t only a meaningful way to help others; it also creates a legacy of caring that you can pass on to your loved ones. With thoughtful planning and aligning your giving efforts to your personal values and financial goals, you can make a difference that extends into future generations, empowering them to continue the tradition of giving for years to come.
Charitable Giving: Thoughtful and Impactful Options
Through charitable giving, you can support the causes and promote the values that are important to you and your family. Your giving can be both thoughtful and impactful, fostering generosity, preserving wealth, and leaving a meaningful legacy.
Donor-Advised Funds (DAFs)
Donor-advised funds are an increasingly popular vehicle for charitable giving, as they’re a tax-efficient and straightforward way to maximize the impact of your contributions.
A donor-advised fund is an investment account, sponsored by a nonprofit organization or financial institution, to which you can contribute a range of assets including cash, stocks, and real estate. You receive a tax deduction for your contribution, and your funds are invested tax-free. Over time, you can recommend grants to charities you’d like to support.
DAFs are a wonderful way to get your family involved in charitable giving. You can invite your loved ones to participate in selecting charities that are meaningful to them, strengthening values of generosity and giving back across generations.
Charitable Trusts
Charitable Remainder Trusts (CRTs) and Charitable Lead Trusts (CLTs) offer another way to give back. These trusts provide you a way to donate appreciated assets such as stocks or real estate in a tax-efficient manner while still supporting causes that matter to you and your family.
A CRT allows you or your beneficiaries to receive an income either for life or for a set period of time, with the remaining assets distributed to your chosen charity. A CLT has an opposite structure — the trust directs regular payments to a chosen charity for a specific period, after which the remaining assets are distributed to your beneficiaries (often at reduced tax rates).
Charitable trusts can play a valuable role in your giving strategy, as they allow you to maximize your charitable impact while helping preserve your wealth.
Community Impact Grants
You don’t have to give solely through traditional vehicles: you can consider establishing a Community Impact Grant fund through community non-profits or foundations. This method of charitable giving allows you to support specific community projects or causes that you’re passionate about, whether it be funding educational programs, local arts, or environmental initiatives.
Collaborate with community leaders to identify urgent needs or meaningful projects that need your support. With Community Impact Grants, your charitable giving will be more focused and tangible, amplifying your contributions and deepening your family’s connections to your community.
Charitable Gift Cards
Charitable gift cards are a unique and fun way to involve others in charitable giving. These gift cards can help you share your commitment to giving with friends, professional colleagues, or employees. The recipient of your charitable gift card can choose where their donation (the value of the gift card) goes, and support the organizations and causes that matter the most to them.
When you gift a charitable gift card, you can help foster a culture of giving that extends beyond your immediate family.
Philanthropy: Giving Back Through Action
When it comes to giving back, don’t underestimate the power of personal involvement. You and your family can engage directly with your community, dedicating time, skills, or resources to make a difference.
Volunteering As a Family
Donating your time can have a profound impact on the causes that are meaningful to you and your loved ones. Volunteer together as a family: serve meals at a local soup kitchen, organize and distribute groceries at a food bank, provide winter clothing and essentials through a non-profit, or support a local shelter or rescue mission.
Giving your time is a rewarding way to give back and engage directly with your community while creating lasting memories with your loved ones. By sharing in experiences, your family can build a tradition of service, and show younger generations that giving comes in many forms.
Support and Shop Local
Supporting local small businesses and restaurants, especially during the holiday season, can be another way of giving back. Stay close to home when shopping and dining out to help support your community and contribute to the local economy. Choose a local small cafe for your morning coffee. Buy handmade gifts from a shop that features local artisans. And if there are local restaurants that have a “pay it forward” program, consider purchasing meals or vouchers to help those in need.
Many small businesses around you are deeply embedded in the fabric of your community, providing jobs to neighbors, contributing to area events, and supporting local charities. By prioritizing these businesses (well beyond the holidays), you can foster a sense of community and shared responsibility with your loved ones. You can also help keep your community vibrant and thriving.
The Joy of Giving This Holiday Season
Giving back can be a meaningful way to show gratitude every holiday season. You can bring joy, hope, and support to those who need it most, and help create ripples of positive impact, not only in the charities and organizations you support but in your and your family’s lives as well.
When you include philanthropy into your financial plan, it becomes a powerful tool to create lasting impact while enhancing your overall strategy. Working with a financial advisor can help you identify ways to maximize your charitable contributions and ensure your giving aligns with your and your family’s values and long-term financial goals.
At Legacy Planning, we have the experience to guide you toward tax-efficient charitable giving strategies, choose the right giving vehicles, and ensure that your philanthropic efforts are as effective and impactful as possible. We can help you balance your financial growth and responsibility, and build a legacy of giving back to your community and the world.
To see if we can help you in your charitable giving and philanthropy this holiday season and beyond, click here to schedule a conversation today.
Content in this material is for general information only and is not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. Legacy Planning does not provide legal or tax advice. You should consult a legal or tax professional regarding your individual situation.
