If you’re not talking about charitable giving with your high net-worth clients, 2024 is the year to start doing it! Recent studies show that 85.1% of affluent households give to charity. Certainly, many of your clients are among them. 

Take a few minutes this month to scan your client list for three common scenarios and related opportunities for charitable giving solutions.

Clients who made significant charitable gifts at year-end. 

You’re probably aware of at least a few clients who increased their charitable giving at the end of 2023. Perhaps you worked with a client to establish a donor-advised or other type of charitable fund at the community foundation, or maybe you helped a client structure a Qualified Charitable Distribution to a field-of-interest or designated fund at the community foundation. Now that the dust has settled on year-end planning activities, go back to these clients to find out more about their overall philanthropic plans. You may discover that a client would like to work with you to update their estate plan to include a bequest to their fund at the community foundation, set up a charitable remainder trust with highly appreciated stock, or proactively plan their charitable gifts for 2024 to get a jump on tax strategies. 

Clients whose stock portfolios have rallied.

2023 brought good news and record highs for the stock market  As always (and perhaps especially now!), giving appreciated, publicly-traded stock to charitable organizations is a highly effective tax strategy. This is because capital gains tax is avoided when your client transfers long-term, marketable securities to a fund at the community foundation or other public charity. The client is typically eligible for an income tax deduction at the fair market value of the securities. When the charity sells the securities, the charity does not pay capital gains tax. This is a win-win for your client and the charity. Scan your client list for clients who are holding long-term stock positions that have appreciated substantially since they bought them, especially with the market’s latest rally.

Clients whose children have moved away. 

Children of affluent parents tend to move away. This means many of your clients may be seeking ways to stay in close communication with their children. Remember that while the community foundation can help your clients maximize the impact and tax benefits of their local giving, the community foundation’s tools are also very geographically flexible. This means, for example, that your clients can use their donor-advised fund to support 501(c)(3) organizations across the country, including in communities where their grown children are living. When you demonstrate your interest in your clients’ charitable giving priorities, you not only are strengthening your client relationships, but you’re also helping clients strengthen relationships with their children.