Although summer is not quite over, many clients and their attorneys, CPAs, and financial advisors are already looking ahead to year-end planning. This is an ideal time to revisit key strategies with your clients, especially as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act continues to shape tax planning. When charitable giving is part of the conversation, do not hesitate to reach out to BCF for support.
August is Make-A-Will Month
We know many advisors use this opportunity to talk with clients about their long-term plans and the legacy they wish to leave. At BCF, we are incredibly grateful for donors who have included the community foundation and other local charities in their estate plans. If you have clients who want to do the same, we can help.
- Bequest Language
Most of the clients and advisors that we work with prefer to keep the language in a will or trust simple – listing the amount or percentage of the gift and the beneficiaries. A gift to a fund at BCF is a way to keep things simple but to benefit multiple causes or organizations. BCF provides sample language for advisors and donors. We will also work with your client to document the specific intentions for their bequest.
For clients with existing bequests, encourage them to meet with us—or with the charity they have designated—to share more about their intentions so their wishes can be honored. Donors can complete a legacy intention form, execute a Fund Agreement that will establish a fund only when their gift is realized, or send additional instructions by letter or email for us to keep on file. Many donors choose a combination of these approaches. One of BCF’s charitable advisors can meet with them to discuss which option or options will work best. - Create a Legacy Through Endowment
For clients who wish to make their mark on their community, opening an endowed account can be an ideal way to support the causes and organizations that they care about in perpetuity. An endowment at BCF generates a yearly amount – the spendable income – which is disbursed to the causes and organizations specified by the donor. The principal of the fund is invested alongside BCF’s other assets and will grow steadily over time.
Endowed accounts are also an ideal way for them to use a Qualified Charitable Distribution from their IRA to start creating their legacy today.
Highs & Lows: Reminding Clients About Stock Gifts
Many clients know that appreciated stock is one of the most tax-efficient assets to give to charity, but fewer understand how the IRS values those gifts. It is useful to review the “high-low average” rule and offer practical reminders clients can use before transferring securities to their donor-advised fund or another fund at the community foundation.
When a client contributes publicly traded securities to a fund at BCF—or directly to another public charity—the amount of the charitable deduction is based on the fair market value of the asset at the time of the gift. For publicly traded securities, however, “fair market value” is not ordinarily the closing price. Instead, the IRS valuation rule generally uses the average between the highest and lowest quoted selling prices on the date of the contribution. This methodology appears in Treasury Regulation § 20.2031-2(b)(1), which outlines the IRS’s longstanding valuation rules.
Bunching Charitable Gifts, Year-End, & Getting Ahead
By the time fall rolls around, the weeks leading up to year-end often pass way too quickly, which means now is the perfect time to talk with clients about “bunching” charitable gifts into a donor-advised fund. Early planning helps clients maximize tax benefits through bunching and other strategies, while providing consistent support to the charities they care about.
Since the beginning of 2026, charitable planning has become even more nuanced. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act added a new limitation under Internal Revenue Code Section 170 requiring that itemized charitable deductions must generally exceed 0.5% of adjusted gross income before a deduction is available. In addition, Section 68 now effectively limits the tax benefit of itemized deductions for taxpayers in the highest marginal income tax bracket to 35%. These two new provisions are sometimes called the “floor” and the “cap.” Although in many cases charitable giving remains highly tax-efficient, these changes make proactive planning increasingly important.
- How Bunching Works
Rather than making charitable gifts in roughly equal amounts each year, a client may benefit from consolidating two or more years of planned charitable contributions up front into a single tax year.
By concentrating, or “bunching,” donations into one year, the client may be better positioned to itemize deductions in that year while claiming the standard deduction in subsequent years, potentially producing greater cumulative tax savings over time.
For many of your clients, a donor-advised fund at BCF can be an effective vehicle for implementing a bunching strategy. A client can make a single, larger contribution to the donor-advised fund, generally claim the charitable deduction in the year of the contribution, and then recommend grants to favorite charities now and in future years.
To learn more about any of these topics, please contact AVP of Development and Donor Services, Marie Lilly at MLilly@bcf.org.
