Building your charitable plan, brick by brick
A message from the CICF Collaborative, including Central Indiana Community Foundation, Hamilton County Community Foundation, IMPACT Central Indiana, the Indianapolis Foundation, and Women’s Fund of Central Indiana
Robin Elmerick, Senior Director of Effective Philanthropy
Life is busy. The calendar fills up. Markets fluctuate. Family and business priorities shift. For many generous people we hear from, it can feel easier to wait for the perfect moment—when things feel calmer, clearer, or more certain.
If that sounds familiar, you are not alone. You may wonder:
Am I giving to the right organizations?
Am I committing too much too soon?
What if my priorities change?
What if I want to involve my children later?
When every decision feels permanent, it is natural to pause. We can help you shift gears from intention to action. Here are three principles that guide our work with donors in this situation.
Take it one step at a time
One of the most helpful mental shifts is to think of charitable planning as a multi-step process rather than a single, all-or-nothing decision. In many cases, a tax planning need takes precedence because of concrete deadlines and tax year considerations. Our team understands! That’s why we are happy to help folks establish a donor-advised fund to meet an immediate tax planning need. With that time-sensitive box checked, we’ll move on to discussing how you’d like to deploy the fund’s resources, involve family members in the decision-making process, and adjust your giving as your interests evolve.
Keep it simple
Sometimes the hardest part of giving is not generosity but decision fatigue.
You might be asking yourself, “Where should I give?” Often, that’s not the best question to ask right out of the gate, especially if you are new to philanthropy. Our team at the CICF Collaborative can help you work through key threshold questions, such as:
What specific charities have I supported over the years?
Why have I supported those charities?
Is there anything about my areas of focus that I’d like to change going forward?
We also offer a guided Values, Interests, and Purpose (VIP) exercise for fundholders. This conversation brings together family members or other fund advisors to clarify what’s driving your giving—both individually and collectively. Through this process, we explore the values that matter most, the issues that feel most urgent, and the impact you want to have in your community and beyond. From there, we help you shape a clear, shared purpose for your philanthropy.
The result is a more focused and aligned approach to giving—one that makes decision-making easier and ensures your philanthropy reflects what matters most to you.
As we explore these questions together, our team can provide research on local nonprofits, share insights about community needs, and facilitate family conversations about values and priorities.
Adopt long-term thinking
Community change does not happen overnight. You may find that your charitable intentions include not only providing annual support to the organizations you care about today, but also making a meaningful difference over many years—or even generations—beyond your lifetime.
The team at the CICF Collaborative can help you build on your existing donor-advised fund by incorporating additional strategies as your philanthropy evolves. For many fundholders, this includes integrating other types of funds as part of a broader long-term or succession plan. For example, a field-of-interest fund can provide ongoing support to a cause you care deeply about, with the flexibility to respond to changing community needs over time.
Similarly, a designated fund can ensure consistent support for specific organizations, while an unrestricted fund allows you to leverage the community foundation’s expertise and perpetual structure to address emerging priorities for generations to come. These fund types can work alongside your donor-advised fund and be incorporated into your estate plan—whether through your will or trust, or through beneficiary designations such as an IRA.
The bottom line is that we are here for you across every stage of your philanthropic journey. Together, we can continue to refine and implement your plan over time—engaging your family, aligning with your advisors, and ensuring your charitable intentions are carried forward in ways that are both meaningful and enduring.
About the author
Senior Director of Effective Philanthropy Robin Elmerick 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.
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 Community Foundation, Hamilton County Community Foundation, 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 »
