As the end of the year approaches, supporting charities is a top priority for many, and I am sure you are all getting many requests for gifts. Donor-advised funds are one of our favorite vehicles for tax-efficient charitable giving. A few years ago, I covered the basics of Donor-Advised Funds on our AFG blog, and we continue to recommend Fidelity’s charitable gift fund. Among other benefits, we found that it simplifies the process of giving directly from investments. 

Over the years, my husband and I have tried to engage our children in our charitable giving. When they were very young, they had the three jars to divide cash up into: spend, save and give. They were so proud when they could make their very own donation to an organization they wanted to support. As they got older, we included them in our discussions of how to divide up the funds we had set aside for year-end giving. I remember the year when one of them donated her full amount to the World Wildlife Fund – I think mostly to get the cute stuffed animals they were offering as a thank you! Giving back is important to our family, so this seemed a tangible way to pass this value on to our children.

This year, I became aware of a feature in the Fidelity Charitable Giving Fund called Gift4Giving and it is the perfect vehicle for us to continue family giving while involving our young adult children. The Gift4Giving is a feature where you can “gift” some of your Fidelity Charitable Giving Fund balance to another person to direct to a charity of their choice. You can choose any amount between $50 and $10,000. Once the person receives the Gift4Giving, they can “spend” it by recommending grants for the charity or charities of their choice. For us, this is a great way to provide a tangible way for our adult children to participate in our family giving. They received an email with the gift and have access to the research available on Fidelity Charitable (GuideStar, Charity Navigator, Give.org and Giving Compass) to find charities they would like to support. 

If giving is important in your family, some hands-on experience is a great way to introduce giving to younger generations. If you’re interested in exploring options for charitable giving and what would work best for your situation, let us know.

As always, we are here for you. Please email or call if you want to set up a Zoom videoconference meeting or talk by phone.

Mary McCraw, CFP®

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