Early Planning for Year-End Giving
Written by Robin Elmerick, CICF Senior Director of Effective Philanthropy
Once “back to school” enters the conversation, the rest of the year tends to move quickly. That makes now a good time to check in on your charitable goals for 2026, before fall calendars fill up and year-end deadlines approach.
Starting early gives you, your tax and financial advisors, and our team more time to coordinate your giving and consider strategies that may help you support the organizations you care about more effectively.
One strategy worth discussing is charitable “bunching.”
What is bunching?
Rather than making similar charitable contributions every year, bunching means combining two or more years of planned giving into a single tax year.
Concentrating contributions may allow you to accumulate enough deductions to make itemizing more beneficial than claiming the standard deduction. This can be especially relevant in 2026 because new rules include a floor equal to 0.5% of adjusted gross income for itemized charitable deductions and a limit on the value of deductions for taxpayers in the highest tax bracket.
Your tax advisor can help determine whether bunching makes sense for your circumstances.
How can your donor-advised fund help?
Your donor-advised fund can make this strategy more flexible.
For example, you could contribute several years’ worth of planned charitable giving to your fund this year and generally claim the available deduction in the year of the contribution, subject to applicable tax limitations. You could then recommend grants to your favorite nonprofit organizations over the next several years.
This approach may help you receive a more meaningful tax benefit without interrupting the consistent support nonprofits rely on.
Your fund can also accept appreciated securities. In the right circumstances, contributing long-term appreciated stock rather than selling it and giving cash may allow you to avoid capital gains tax while supporting your charitable goals. Your tax and financial advisors can help you evaluate which assets may be most appropriate to contribute. If you’ve never made a stock contribution to your fund, your philanthropic adivsor can give you the information you’ll need.
Start the conversation early
Bunching is not the right strategy for everyone, and tax considerations are only one part of a thoughtful charitable plan. Still, beginning the conversation now gives you time to review your goals, evaluate your options, and avoid rushed decisions in December.
I encourage you to speak with your tax and financial advisors about your plans for the remainder of the year. Please include us in the conversation as well. Our team would be glad to serve as a sounding board and help you carry out a giving strategy that reflects both your financial circumstances and the impact you want to make.
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.
