Types of giving
Our E-Booklets are great downloadable resources on a variety of subjects related to estate planning and increasing your impact. Just click on the headline to open a PDF of each title. Contact us if you would like more information on any of these subjects. Feel free to download these resources and share! These resources are updated regularly to stay abreast of changing regulations and IRS code, with the most recent update in June 2025.
Retirement & Personal Planning
Gift Planning Quick Guide
Do you desire a clear, concise overview of giving options, how they work, and what makes them beneficial? This one-page planning guide covers many tools and strategies for making gifts while accomplishing personal planning goals and reaping useful tax benefits.
Strategic Giving – Simple Ways to Make an Impact
Simple gifts can nonetheless be highly strategic gifts. We start with a review of the steps to a sound giving strategy. Then, we introduce effective gift options for making a difference today as well as options for making a difference in the future.
Retirement Planning and Charitable Giving
When it comes to retirement planning, each life stage requires a different focus. But no matter the stage, philanthropy can play an important part in achieving overall goals. We look at time-tested giving options including wills, trusts, beneficiary designations, appreciated stock, real estate, and gift annuities.
Retirement Planning – With Savvy Giving, Everyone Wins
Whether an individual is approaching retirement or already there, they are likely interested in increasing retirement income and reducing taxes. We discuss several ways donors can achieve a comfortable retirement while giving back by converting assets into income streams as part of a charitable gift.
Smart Personal Planning Strategies
We all have long-term personal, financial and philanthropic goals. We explore a variety of long-term strategies and creative gift plans that can help donors maintain their current lifestyle, take advantage of tax benefits, and make more satisfying charitable gifts.
Personal Financial Affairs – Your Book of Records
It’s easy for people to understand the necessity of having a complete and accessible record of financial information. Unfortunately, it’s just as easy for them to put off creating one. You can use this handy form to compile information and possibly even reveal areas where additional planning is necessary.
Increase Your Retirement Income with a Deferred Gift Annuity
Many people have maxed out their retirement contributions but still want to generate more income in retirement. Deferred gift annuities can provide an easy charitable solution. We discuss how they work and detail their many benefits.
Retirement Plan Assets
Retirement assets are heavily taxed when distributed to heirs, but not taxed when given to charity. For those planning a charitable gift, we discuss why retirement assets may be particularly beneficial for donation.
Year-End Planning
Completing a gift by the end of the year can reduce a donor’s current tax bill. We explore how various assets and giving strategies can help donors accomplish their year-end planning goals.
A Gift from Your IRA – A Simple and Smart Way to Give
IRA owners over age 70½ can meet philanthropic goals by making a qualified charitable distribution from an IRA. We discuss the details of this giving strategy so that donors can decide if it fits into their overall financial plan.
Gift Annuities
Charitable Gift Annuities: Frequently Asked Questions
A charitable gift annuity is a life income gift that offers benefits to both donor and charity. We review the basics through a short selection of questions and answers on this popular giving method.
Charitable Gift Annuity – A Smart Way to Give and Receive
Sometimes, donors wonder how to make a meaningful gift to charity without putting their family’s financial security in jeopardy. A charitable gift annuity is a possible solution. We explore this popular way to for donors to give while receiving a life income and taking advantage of favorable tax benefits.
Charitable Gift Annuities
A charitable gift annuity is a popular way for a donor to make a significant gift while securing a series of fixed income payments. We use a simple question and answer format to look more closely at the reasons for this popularity and the ins and outs of gift annuities.
Charitable Gift Annuity – The Gift that Gives Back
A charitable gift annuity is a popular and simple way to contribute to charity and also receive an income, which often allows donors to make larger gifts than would otherwise have been possible. We discuss how gift annuities work and help donors decide if this tool might have a place in their overall planning.
Trusts
Charitable Remainder Trusts: Frequently Asked Questions
A charitable remainder trust provides a life income before gifting the remaining trust assets to charity. We review the basics through a short selection of questions and answers on this important giving method.
A Charitable Lead Trust – How to Give and Pass Wealth to Your Heirs
A charitable lead trust is a powerful tool for making a stream of annual gifts to charity and then passing the remaining trust assets to heirs. Through a simple question-and-answer format, we present the basics of this win-win opportunity for tax-efficient wealth transfer, from interest rates to funding options.
Trusts in Financial and Gift Planning
Trusts are not just for the very wealthy. We help donors understand a wide variety of trusts—including charitable trusts—and how each can help them accomplish their planning goals, provide financial security, control the disposition of their assets, and produce meaningful tax savings.
Charitable Remainder Trusts
A charitable remainder trust is a powerful tool for creating a stream of income payments (for life or for a period of years) and then making a deferred charitable gift of the trust’s remaining assets. We discuss how it works, how to tailor it to meet individual needs and objectives, and the significant tax benefits.
Other Gift Plans
The Nuts and Bolts of Donor Advised Funds
Versatile and unique, a donor advised fund is a way to make a gift to a sponsoring organization and qualify for an immediate federal income tax charitable deduction. Learn how donor advised funds work, including the donor’s advisory privileges regarding charitable distributions from the fund.
Revocable Gifts
A revocable gift is a comfortable commitment—an easy way to plan a future gift while retaining the flexibility to make changes if necessary. We provide more information about gifts in a will, beneficiary designations, gifts of retirement assets, and revocable living trusts.
Gifts of Life Insurance
Giving life insurance, either outright or through a beneficiary designation, is an effective way for a donor to make a major impact with little or no immediate out-of-pocket cost. We discuss this gift option, along with the alternate strategy of using policy proceeds to replace other donated assets.
Gifts of Real Estate
Many potential donors own real estate they no longer wish to manage. They are looking for a tax-efficient way to pass the property to heirs or convert it into an income stream. We explore charitable giving options that unlock a property’s earning potential and create tax savings while making a meaningful gift.
Gifts of Property
When many individuals consider giving, they immediately think of cash—but, of course, there are so many other options. We detail the many ways to give and the benefits associated with each gift, including securities, closely held stock, real estate, life insurance, and tangible property.
Gifts of Stock
Selling appreciated stock results in a hefty capital gains tax. However, donating appreciated stock avoids this tax and provides a charitable tax deduction. We explore how to make the most effective use of appreciated stock in either outright or life income gifts.
Life Income Gift Plans – Ways to Give and Receive
For those considering a major gift but concerned about its impact on future finances, a life income gift (charitable remainder trust or charitable gift annuity) may be the answer. We discuss this gift option that also provides income payments, possibly allowing a larger gift than the donor thought possible.
Making A Difference
For those who think that only a privileged few are wealthy enough to leave a meaningful legacy, we explore the many flexible and tax-favored ways to make gifts of all sizes—outright gifts, gifts in a will, life income plans, trusts, pooled income funds, beneficiary designations, and more.
Wills & Bequests
Planning Your Will
A will can have a profound effect on the financial well-being of an individual’s family members, friends, and selected charitable organizations, all while reflecting their life values. We discuss the key elements, their ability to change or revoke the will, and what makes a will highly effective.
Bequests: Frequently Asked Questions
A bequest is an easy way to make a gift in a will that allows for flexibility and modifications. We review the basics using a short selection of questions and answers on this popular giving method.
Flexible Giving and Your Will
A gift in a will is a popular, simple and flexible way to give, but some assets generate greater tax advantages than others. We explore the treatment of a variety of assets to help donors most effectively tailor their gift to their own personal circumstances and objectives.
Six Steps to an Effective Will
Simple or complex, a will is more than just a tool to distribute assets—it is a reflection of an individual’s life values. We highlight six basic steps that will allow donors to make the most effective use of this important legal document.
A Gift in Your Will – How to Meet Your Charitable Goals
Some people want the satisfaction of supporting a meaningful cause but don’t feel they can make the gift immediately. We look at the many benefits of making a gift in a will—simplicity, flexible implementation and timing, ease of making changes, the potential tax impact, and more.
Steps to an Effective Will or Living Trust
Some day, when the time comes, each of us will be remembered not just for our actions and connections, but for our support of meaningful causes or organizations. We examine the steps donors can take now to shape their legacy through the effective and thoughtful use of a will or living trust.
Estate Planning
Estate Planning Today
Estate planning ensures that an individual’s personal objectives are carried out after death. We look at the many issues facing estates without an estate plan, give donors a better understanding of how to develop an effective plan, and encourage the incorporation of philanthropy.
Estate Planning
Right now, estate taxation is relatively stable and affects very few estates—but estate planning is about so much more than tax reduction. We detail the many critical reasons to plan, along with the valuable role of charitable giving in providing important tax benefits and creating a lasting, meaningful legacy.
