Big Gifts, Bullish Portfolios, and Engaging Families in Giving

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 OCF, or maybe you helped a client structure a Qualified Charitable Distribution to a field-of-interest or designated fund at OCF. 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 OCF, 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 OCF or other public charity. The client is typically eligible for an income tax deduction at the fair market value of the securities, and 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 who want to involve children (or grandchildren) in charitable giving. 

Many of your clients may be seeking ways to engage their children in their giving or are thinking about leaving a charitable legacy that involves younger generations of family members. OCF advisors have training in multigenerational philanthropy and facilitation to help your clients plan a cohesive direction for family philanthropy. 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.