The ETCF team is happy to keep an eye out for what’s trending in the field of charitable planning, especially developments that impact your work with your charitable clients and how those clients tap into tools and resources at the community foundation.
Check out these articles that have caught our attention recently.
Celebrating a life of giving
Dolly Parton’s Rhinestone Legacy
–ABC News
Dolly Parton’s philanthropy was unusually practical and personal, directing her wealth toward needs she understood firsthand—from childhood literacy and disaster relief in Tennessee to wildlife conservation and COVID-19 vaccine research. Her approach emphasized simple, direct action, and trust in recipients—all of which are inspirational to our ETCF team.
Charitable giving with retirement assets!
Retirees Over 70½ Can Send $111,000 a Year From an IRA to Charity Tax-Free. The Average One Donates From Checking Instead.
–24/7 Wall St.
Many charitably inclined retirees are still giving from their checking accounts even though a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) may offer a more tax-efficient route for eligible IRA owners. The article is a useful reminder that advisors can add value simply by asking how a client is making charitable gifts: Sometimes changing the asset or account used to make the same gift can produce a very different tax result. As always, ETCF can help your clients explore eligible ways to make QCD gifts, including, where appropriate, gifts to designated, field-of-interest, and unrestricted funds. Remember that QCDs cannot be made to donor-advised funds.
Generous tech
Tech millionaires are turning to donor-advised funds to save on taxes while giving to charity
–CNBC
A wave of newly wealthy tech employees is using donor-advised funds to contribute appreciated company stock, potentially avoiding capital gains taxes, securing charitable deductions, and giving themselves time to decide which nonprofits to support. The trend is a good reminder for advisors that IPOs and other liquidity events can create significant charitable opportunities—and that the best results often come when charitable planning begins before the transaction. This is why it is crucial to reach out to the ETCF when clients start talking about an exit, even if the exit is years away.
Philanthropy beyond DAFs
Philanthropic Planning Is Wealth Management’s Next Competitive Frontier, Beyond DAFs
–InvestmentNews
Donor-advised funds are important tools, but they are not the whole philanthropic toolbox. This article explores why high-net-worth clients increasingly expect wealth advisors to help them consider a broader range of charitable structures and how that expertise can help advisors strengthen relationships not only with clients, but also with the next generation. Remember, the community foundation offers a wide range of fund types and charitable planning structures to help your clients establish a lifetime and legacy giving plan tailored to their financial and charitable goals.
Donor-advised fund insights
Five Core Truths About Donor-Advised Funds
–WealthManagement.com
This article takes on some common misconceptions about donor-advised funds, highlighting their usefulness for coordinating charitable giving and facilitating complex gifts, their significant grantmaking to charities, and their increasingly important role in charitable and succession planning. For advisors, the takeaway is that donor-advised funds have become an increasingly important part of the philanthropic landscape—and understanding how they actually work can help clients make better charitable planning decisions. And of course, ETCF offers donor-advised funds as part of its broad menu of charitable giving vehicles.
Even more donor-advised fund insights
Donor-Advised Fund Strategies For 2026
–Financial Advisor Magazine
This article looks at donor-advised funds through a 2026 planning lens, including how advisors can use donor-advised funds as part of broader tax and charitable strategies rather than simply as repositories for year-end gifts. The bigger opportunity is to help clients coordinate the timing, assets, and ultimate purpose of their charitable giving with the rest of their financial plans. ETCF is here to help you help your clients navigate the charitable and tax components of charitable giving.
IRS has its eyes on assets
IRS Eyes Charitable Donation Abuse in New Audits, Tax Pros Say
–Bloomberg Law
The IRS is taking a closer look at charitable contributions of hard-to-value assets, including privately held business interests and art, with tax professionals reporting particular scrutiny of valuation, qualified appraisals, and substantiation requirements. For advisors, this is an important reminder that complex charitable gifts require careful planning and documentation—and that bringing ETCF into the conversation early can help address the charitable side of the transaction before the client takes action.
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