Charitable Giving Strategies in Alpharetta, GA
Support the causes you care about with a giving strategy that makes thoughtful use of your assets and available tax benefits.
FEE-ONLY · FIDUCIARY · INDEPENDENT RIA · MARC DANER, CFP®, ChFC® · 30+ YEARS OF EXPERIENCE
What’s the Best Way to Make Your Charitable Gift?
You may already know which cause you want to support. The financial question is how to make the gift: write a check, donate investments, give from an IRA, or include the charity in your estate plan. Each approach has different tax consequences, requirements, and timing considerations.
At Daner Wealth Management, we help you compare the assets and giving arrangements that suit your intentions, coordinating with your tax adviser and estate attorney where needed. We also consider how the gift fits with your retirement needs and what you want to leave your family through your estate plan.
Should You Give Cash, Investments, or Retirement Assets?
Cash can be a straightforward way to make a donation. If you own investments that have grown in value, it is also worth comparing a direct donation of shares with selling them and giving the proceeds. Your tax adviser can assess the tax consequences and any deduction available for the particular gift.
Retirement assets need a separate review. Giving from an IRA during your lifetime has different requirements from naming a charity as its beneficiary. The right choice depends on your eligibility, the timing of the gift, and your plans for other beneficiaries.
We compare these choices alongside your investment holdings and coordinate with your tax adviser on the tax treatment. Our tax planning work helps connect the charitable gift with your wider tax decisions, including when to make the donation.
Choose a Giving Arrangement That Fits Your Plan
Give Directly to an Organization
A direct gift can support a charity’s work while you are alive to see it, without setting up a separate fund or trust. Before transferring investments or other property, confirm what the organization can accept and how the transfer will be completed.
If you want a gift used for a particular program, discuss that purpose with the charity before making it. A restriction that sounds clear to you may not fit the organization’s work or its ability to administer the gift.
Include a Charity in Your Estate Plan
A bequest in a will or trust can name a charitable recipient. A beneficiary designation may also direct some or all of an eligible account to charity. These arrangements need to be coordinated so that the same gift is not unintentionally counted twice.
A traditional IRA can be worth considering when you intend to leave assets to both people and charity. Individual beneficiaries generally owe income tax on taxable IRA distributions; an eligible tax-exempt charity generally does not. The appropriate allocation depends on the accounts, the beneficiaries, and the rest of your plan.
Use a Donor-Advised Fund
A donor-advised fund lets you contribute assets to a sponsoring charity and recommend grants to eligible organizations over time. The contribution is irrevocable: the sponsor owns and controls the assets, even though you retain advisory privileges.
This can be useful if you are ready to commit the money to charity but want to choose grant recipients over time. It does not preserve access to that money for your own expenses or your family’s inheritance. If you want family members to continue recommending grants after your death, review the sponsor’s succession options, fees, and rules.
Read our guide to donor-advised funds for more on choosing a sponsor and recommending grants.
Consider a Charitable Trust for a Specific Need
A charitable remainder trust can provide payments to you or other named beneficiaries for a permitted term, with the remainder passing to charity. It is irrevocable, and payments to beneficiaries can be taxable.
This involves legal drafting, administration, and tax reporting. It deserves a careful comparison with simpler giving arrangements. Daner can consider the financial implications with you and your professional advisers; legal design and implementation belong with your attorney.
How We’re Paid
As a fee-only firm, our primary service is comprehensive financial planning and investment management for an annual fee based on the assets we manage, generally around 1% on a tiered scale. For prospective clients who are considering our ongoing wealth management services but aren't ready to commit, we also offer the option of developing an initial comprehensive financial plan for a one-time, flat fee. We don't earn commissions from selling investment or insurance products. We'll walk you through exactly what that means for your situation before you commit to anything.
Why Choose Daner Wealth Management
Marc Daner, CFP®, ChFC®, has helped families organize what they leave behind as part of a full financial picture for more than 30 years. As an independent, fee-only fiduciary, we're required by law to act in your best interest, not selling products or earning commissions. We explain your options in plain language and stay with you as your plan evolves.
Questions About Charitable Giving
If you are at least age 70½, a qualified charitable distribution may allow an eligible transfer directly from your IRA to a qualifying charity. It can count toward a required minimum distribution when the requirements are met. Donor-advised funds are not eligible QCD recipients, and an amount excluded from income cannot also be claimed as a charitable deduction. Eligibility and annual limits need to be checked for the year of the gift.
It depends on the arrangement. A gift in a will or revocable trust can generally be revised while you have the capacity and authority to make the change. A completed gift to a donor-advised fund or charitable remainder trust is irrevocable. Understand the point at which you give up access to the assets before proceeding.
Not simply because you want to give regularly or involve your family. Direct gifts, a donor-advised fund, or an estate gift may meet that purpose with less administration. A private foundation brings separate governance, reporting, and operating responsibilities. Compare those obligations with what you want to accomplish before choosing a structure.
Read more about how to compare charitable giving options.
