Five Tips for Year-end Giving that Makes a Lasting Difference

Year-end Giving, Year-round Impact

October 28, 2026

Enlisting the Community Foundation of Broward's team of philanthropy experts helps your year-end giving create year-round impact.

Giving during the holidays feels good. Finding ways for your year-end giving to create year-round impact can feel even better.

The Community Foundation of Broward’s team of philanthropy experts is ready to help you make the most of your year-end giving. Here are five tips to consider for amplifying your impact and your tax benefits.

Gift “Bundling”

Gift “bundling” or “bunching” involves providing several years’ worth of support for your favorite causes or organizations through a single gift to a Donor-Advised Fund at the Community Foundation.

Gift bundling enables you to lock in support to achieve your long-term charitable goals, while getting the full tax benefit this year.

Because of changes to federal tax law, taxpayers who itemize in 2026 can only deduct charitable contributions that exceed 0.5% of their adjusted gross income (AGI). Combining several years' worth of contributions into a single tax year enables some donors to exceed the new “standard deduction” and maximize their itemized deductions.

New Deduction for Non-Itemizers

You don’t have to itemize to get a tax benefit from charitable giving.

Beginning in 2026, taxpayers who do not itemize can deduct up to $1,000 of qualifying cash charitable contributions, or $2,000 for married couples filing jointly.

This is worth remembering when you’re considering annual giving and have relatively straightforward tax situations. Please note that noncash gifts and gifts to Donor-Advised Funds don’t qualify for this deduction.

Giving “Appreciated Assets” and other Cash Alternatives

While giving cash is easy and much appreciated, using other assets may bolster your tax benefits and enable you to make a lasting difference.

Appreciated stock can be donated and then sold by a charity for 100 cents on the dollar – and no capital gains tax applies. That means your favorite charitable causes receive more support than if you had sold that same asset yourself and then donated the proceeds.

Real estate, “closely-held stock” and valuable collections can also fuel your charitable support. Acting early in the holiday season will enable our philanthropy experts to work with your professional advisor to facilitate gifts of complex assets in time for 2026 tax benefits.

IRA Giving Opportunities

Using a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) from your IRA to support your favorite charitable cause is a great opportunity to potentially reduce your taxable income and satisfy a Required Minimum Distribution (RMD).

A QCD allows an IRA owner age 70½ or older to make a distribution directly from an IRA to an eligible charity, subject to the annual limit and other requirements. A qualifying QCD is excluded from income rather than claimed as a charitable deduction.

For 2026, the QCD limit is $111,000 per IRA owner. While Donor-Advised Funds are not eligible QCD recipients, the Community Foundation offers several other types of charitable funds that can receive QCDs. Contact our team to learn more.

Dates to remember

Checks: Mailed donations must be postmarked no later than Dec. 31 to count toward your 2026 tax benefits. Mail checks to: Community Foundation of Broward, 910 East Las Olas Boulevard, Suite 200, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301.
Online donations: Donations via the Community Foundation website should be made before 5 p.m. on Dec. 31 to count toward your 2026 tax benefits. CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO A CHARITABLE FUND AT THE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION.
Wire Transfers: Wire transfers must be received by Dec. 21 to be processed in time to count toward your 2026 tax benefits. Please contact us at 954-761-9503 for wiring instructions.
Stock Gifts: Stock gifts must be received by Dec. 17.
Donor-Advised Funds: Dec. 21 is the last day for 2026 grant advisements from Donor-Advised Funds at the Community Foundation to ensure delivery before the year ends. Also, new Donor-Advised funds must be created by 5 p.m. on Dec. 31 to quality for 2026 tax benefits.

Creating lasting impact takes a plan. The Community Foundation finds opportunities others miss. We pool resources for greater impact. We ensure your support is always used as intended.

We encourage you to contact your professional advisor to discuss giving strategies that work best for you. Our philanthropy team is ready to work with you and your advisor to help you make a difference, during the holidays and beyond.

Thank you for your year-end giving!