Sarah D. McDaniel, CFA

Nov 04, 2026

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Beyond Giving Tuesday: Guiding Clients Toward Year-Round Strategic Philanthropy

On Giving Tuesday, most clients will give the way they always have: a credit card on a charity’s website, or a check to the same few organizations they support every year. The money usually comes from cash, and often no one asks whether it should come from a different account or be given in a different tax year.

Advisors are in a position to ask. The charitable deduction rules changed on January 1, and several strategies that work well under the new rules, including qualified charitable distributions and bunching gifts into a donor-advised fund, have to be finished by December 31. A conversation in early November leaves time to act on them, and it can lead to a giving plan that runs all year.

Frame giving as a family conversation

Families give in two ways: with their time and with their capital. Advisors usually focus on the second, but the first is often what brings the next generation into the conversation.

Giving time. Board service, volunteering, or professional skills given to a cause the family cares about. A retired executive might join a nonprofit board; an adult child might help a local organization with operations or outreach. These roles give younger family members a stake in the family’s giving long before they control any assets.

Giving capital. Moving past default check-writing to structured, tax-efficient giving that fits the family’s assets, income, and estate plan. This is where the planning work happens, and where the 2026 rules matter most.

For advisors, the family side of philanthropy is more than goodwill. Cerulli projects that 70% of inherited assets leave the original advisor. Philanthropy gives advisors a reason to meet the heirs, through a family giving meeting, a shared donor-advised fund, or a conversation about which causes the next generation wants to support, years before any assets change hands.

What changed for charitable giving in 2026

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) changed how charitable gifts are deducted starting this year. Three changes matter most for year-end conversations:

• A 0.5% floor for itemizers. Only charitable gifts above 0.5% of AGI are deductible. A client with $400,000 of AGI can’t deduct the first $2,000 they give each year.
• A 35% cap for top-bracket donors. Clients in the 37% bracket now get a maximum benefit of 35 cents per dollar given. A $10,000 gift saves $3,500 instead of $3,700.
• A new deduction for non-itemizers. Clients who take the standard deduction can now deduct cash gifts of up to 1,000(2,000 for married couples filing jointly). Gifts to donor-advised funds and private foundations don’t qualify.

Some rules stayed the same. The 60% of AGI limit for cash gifts to public charities is now permanent, gifts of appreciated stock still avoid capital gains tax, and qualified charitable distributions work as before, with a 2026 limit of $111,000 per person.

Together, these changes shift which strategies make the most sense:

• Bunching is worth more. Because the floor applies every year, concentrating several years of gifts into one year means the floor reduces the deduction only once.
• Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) gain an edge for clients 70½ and older. A QCD isn’t counted as income, so the floor and cap don’t apply to it.
• Non-itemizers should give cash directly. The new deduction applies only to direct cash gifts to public charities, not to DAF contributions.

For most clients, the practical takeaway is to review this year’s giving before December 31, not after. Most of these decisions can’t be changed once the year closes.

Matching giving vehicles to the client

A client’s net worth is a useful starting point for choosing a giving strategy, but it isn’t the whole picture. Age, income, how much the client gives, and estate plans matter just as much. Use the tiers below as a first filter, not a rule.

No matter the tier, the same question starts the conversation: what is the client giving now, and from which assets? Many clients give cash out of habit when appreciated stock or IRA dollars would cost them less.

Giving vehicles at a glance

Most families use more than one of these over time, and some combine them, such as a charitable trust that leaves its remainder to a donor-advised fund. Here is a short summary of each, from the simplest to the most involved:

• Direct gifts. The simplest option. Giving appreciated stock held more than a year instead of cash avoids capital gains tax and is deductible at full market value.
• Qualified charitable distributions (QCDs). For clients 70½ and older, up to $111,000 in 2026 can go directly from an IRA to charity. A QCD counts toward the RMD and isn’t counted as income, but it can’t go to a donor-advised fund or private foundation.
• Donor-advised funds (DAFs). The client gets the deduction in the year of the contribution and recommends grants over time, which makes DAFs the natural tool for bunching. Naming children as successor advisors brings the next generation in.
• Private foundations. The most control and family involvement, but with lower deduction limits, a 5% annual payout requirement, public filings, and strict rules on transactions with family members.
• Charitable remainder unitrusts (CRUTs). The trust pays the client a fixed percentage of its value each year, for life or a set term, and the charity receives what remains. Appreciated assets can be sold inside the trust without immediate capital gains tax.
• Charitable lead annuity trusts (CLATs). The reverse: the charity receives fixed payments for a set term, and what remains passes to family. CLATs tend to work best when IRS interest rates are low.

For more detail on each, see our guide to charitable gifting.

How Vanilla helps advisors map a family’s giving plan

Charitable trusts and multi-generational giving can be hard for clients to follow on paper. Vanilla, the only patented, AI-powered estate planning platform, turns those structures into visuals clients can read and discuss.

• Family Tree. Shows the full family structure, including relationships and ages, so advisors can see who might take part in the family’s giving, such as which adult children could serve as DAF successor advisors or join a family giving meeting.
• Balance Sheet. Shows net worth by asset type and ownership, making it easier for advisors to see what a client owns and how it’s titled before weighing which assets to use for a charitable gift.
• Vanilla Scenarios®. Models charitable strategies, such as a CRUT or CLAT, alongside the client’s current estate plan, showing the effect on estate tax exposure and on what passes to heirs and to charity.

How to start the conversation this Giving Tuesday

1. Review appreciated positions. Identify long-term holdings with large embedded gains that could fund this year’s gifts instead of cash.
2. Check RMDs and QCDs. Flag clients 70½ and older who haven’t completed this year’s RMD, and consider whether a QCD fits before December 31.
3. Revisit this year’s giving under the new rules. Look for clients who would benefit from bunching gifts into a DAF, and non-itemizers who should give cash directly.
4. Suggest a family giving meeting. The holidays bring families together. A short conversation about which causes matter to each generation can open the door to longer-term planning.

From one day of giving to a year-round plan

Giving Tuesday is a single day, but the decisions behind it play out over years: which assets fund a family’s giving, when gifts are made, and who in the family takes part. Advisors who start that conversation in November, before the year closes, can turn a seasonal donation into year-round philanthropy that fits the client’s broader plan, and get to know the next generation before any assets change hands.

Frequently asked questions

What changed for charitable deductions in 2026?

Itemizers can deduct only charitable gifts above 0.5% of AGI, the deduction is worth at most 35% for donors in the 37% bracket, and non-itemizers can deduct up to $1,000 ($2,000 for married couples) in cash gifts to public charities.

Can a qualified charitable distribution go to a donor-advised fund?

No. QCDs must go to a qualifying public charity. Donor-advised funds and private foundations aren’t eligible.

What is charitable bunching?

Bunching means combining several years of charitable gifts into one tax year, often through a donor-advised fund, so the client itemizes in that year and takes the standard deduction in others. Under the 2026 rules, it also means the 0.5% floor applies only once.

The information provided here does not constitute legal, financial, or tax advice. It is provided for general informational purposes only. Please consult with an estate attorney, financial advisor, or tax professional who can advise as to your particular situation.