Many nonprofits approach fundraising from Donor Advised Funds the wrong way. There is a right way and I’m going to tell you exactly how to do it. Step 1: Ask your donors if they have a donor advised fund.  If they say “yes”, you should be excited. This person is…

Lately I’ve noticed a flurry of renewed interest in Charitable Remainder Trusts from my nonprofit clients, their donors, wealth advisors, attorneys and others. I’ve been asked to speak about them and I’ve been asked to consult on several gift situations involving CRTs. I’ve even created a new CRT module which…

It’s been nearly a year since Proposed Treasury Regulations REG-142338-07 were released, public comments were collected, and a hearing was held on the matter of excise taxes on taxable distributions made by a sponsoring organization from a donor advised fund (DAF). We haven’t heard much about this matter since the hearing…

Happy New Year! I hope 2025 is treating you well so far. Last year I attended a number of conferences. They were all top-notch, but some of the sessions were extra-special. They taught me things I didn’t know or reminded me of important things I had forgotten. These are the…

Before you can start asking donors to consider gifts of non-cash assets, you’ll need to get prepared. You’ll need to build some infrastructure so that you are well-positioned to accept non-cash gifts efficiently and effectively.  Over the last 20 years, I’ve identified the following essential pieces to building a successful non-cash gift…

I’ve been getting more and more questions from clients about Life Estate gifts. Many people have real estate they do not wish to leave to heirs at their passing and they’re looking for options. A life estate is pretty simple, in theory. A donor gives their residence, vacation property, or…

Have you ever been approached by a donor who wants to donate United States savings bonds? Sounds like a wonderful idea, doesn’t it? The donor probably purchased or received the bonds many years ago and they are reluctant to cash them in due to the associated income tax on the…

When I first started working in gift planning 20 years ago, Charitable Gift Annuities were all the rage. Charities were issuing them right and left, because they provided such attractive benefits to donors. Both payout rates and charitable income tax deductions were high. In the midst of the dot-com boom,…

Gifts of things like real estate, stock, and life insurance may seem very different from one another, but the gift acceptance process for all non-cash gifts is the same. These same five steps apply to all non-cash gifts, but one of them stands out as by far the most important…