One of the most popular and straightforward charitable giving strategies is the donation of appreciated stock. Funding charitable gifts with appreciated stocks or mutual funds — rather than cash — yields a bigger tax benefit since you can deduct the full value of securities held more than one year without paying capital gains taxes on the appreciation. If you are donating to a tax-exempt organization, it will not pay capital gains taxes.

A charitable bequest is a statement in a will that allows the testator (person who made the will) to gift assets to a charity upon their death. Click here to leave a Bequest.

Planned giving is a strategy for choosing to gift an asset in the future that you own today. They are often major gifts and can be made during a donor’s life or upon their death. Examples include appreciated stock, life insurance proceeds, bonds, cash, property, art, etc.

Donors can gift assets to an organization posthumously via their estate. These gifts can be made immediately upon death (bequest via will), over the course of time or at a certain time in the future.

If they are not immediate, it is likely that the donor has language in a trust that allocates a portion of the estate for charitable purposes.

A donor-advised fund is a vehicle that allows a donor to contribute a variety of assets (appreciated securities, mutual funds, life insurance, cash, etc.), claim an immediate income tax deduction for the fair market value of the asset(s) then make grants in future years according to a giving plan. You can boost your tax savings by giving highly appreciated securities.