Donor-advised funds: Bunching, abundance, and flexibility
Written by Robin Elmerick, CICF Senior Director of Effective Philanthropy
Many people establish a donor-advised fund at the CICF Collaborative to simplify their giving, stay organized, and even engage the next generation in philanthropy. For some families, 2025 is the year when the donor-advised fund takes on an even bigger role in aligning charitable giving goals with changing laws. Even families who are not impacted directly by new tax law are beginning to recognize more value in their donor-advised fund for the variety of purposes it can serve. Let’s take a look:
- Evaluate “bunching” in 2025. If you itemize deductions on your income tax return, you might have heard that things are changing in 2026 when both a floor and a cap on itemized charitable deductions kick in. This means 2025 offers a unique opportunity to “front-load” or “bunch” charitable contributions into your donor-advised fund. By making a larger contribution in 2025—perhaps representing two or three years of anticipated giving—you can maximize your tax deduction under the current rules while continuing to recommend grants to charities in 2026 and beyond.
- Organize your giving. Your donor-advised fund at the CICF Collaborative already serves as a useful hub to organize your giving. You make tax-deductible contributions of cash or appreciated stock, and then recommend grants to your favorite organizations over time. With this in mind, make sure your fund is the center of your charitable activity—not a side account. In other words, consider making all charitable contributions through your donor-advised fund to streamline recordkeeping and tracking of your annual giving footprint.
- Adopt a portfolio approach. Alongside your donor-advised fund, you can establish a designated or field-of-interest fund at the CICF Collaborative. A designated fund supports a specific charity for the long term, while a field-of-interest fund focuses on an area of community need, guided by the CICF Collaborative’s deep local knowledge. If you are over age 70½, your IRA’s Qualified Charitable Distributions can go directly to field-of-interest and designated funds. That reduces your taxable income while supporting the causes you care about.
- Establish a legacy. Of course, you can include your charitable funds in your estate plan. Many people name donor-advised funds or other CICF Collaborative funds as beneficiaries in their wills, trusts, or retirement accounts. Retirement plans such as traditional IRAs, for example, can be tax-efficient assets to give to your fund through your estate because the gift bypasses income and estate tax.
As you begin to view your donor-advised fund in a new light, remember that the CICF Collaborative team is here to help you make the most of it, whether that means exploring how to “bunch your giving” in 2025, creating complementary funds, or planning your charitable legacy. We are honored to work together to ensure that your philanthropy continues to make a lasting difference in our community, today and for years to come.
About the CICF Collaborative
CICF Collaborative is a partnership of philanthropic organizations working together to strengthen communities across the region. Each entity within the CICF Collaborative (including the cornerstone entities, Central Indiana CICF Collaborative, Hamilton County CICF Collaborative, IMPACT Central Indiana, the Indianapolis Foundation, and Women’s Fund of Central Indiana) brings deep knowledge, strong relationships, and its own individual, focused mission. The CICF Collaborative unites the entities by providing shared services, allowing the entities to operate more efficiently and effectively. By leveraging what we each do best, we’re able to better serve our communities and create more lasting impact, together. Learn more »
About the Author
Robin Elmerick, senior director of effective philanthropy has been with CICF since 2019. A certified Impact Philanthropy Advisor, she works closely with fundholders across all entities of the CICF Collaborative to help them define their philanthropic strategies and maximize their impact. With a background in nonprofit leadership and consulting, she is passionate about bridging the needs of the community with the missions of nonprofits and the passions of our fundholders, aligning all three to create meaningful change in Central Indiana and beyond.