Charitable Giving Strategies
WHY TO GIVE
There are probably as many reasonsto give to charity as there are charitiesto give to, but they generally can be divided into three broad categories. The first,of course, is supporting an organization or cause you care about. The second is to leave a personal — and often also a family — legacy. Both of these reasons are very personal, and only you and your family can determine how they should impact your charitable giving strategy. But the third reason for giving to charity will require more than just soul-searching. It’s to save taxes, and you’ll need to be familiar with the subtleties of the tax law to be able to make wise decisions about how charitable giving should fit into your personal wealth management plan.
In this guide, we’ll take a close look at how giving to charity can save you both income and estate taxes while achieving your charitable goals. We also will examine the types of assets you might want to consider giving, as well as the pluses and minuses of each. Finally, we’ll discuss how to make charitable gifts. The methods presented will help you determine not only how to save the most taxes, but also how to best achieve your other charitable goals, such as supporting your favorite organizations as you wish, leaving a legacy, and even instilling the charitable spirit in your children, grandchildren or other heirs.
