Charitable Giving Strategies: DAFs and Charitable Trusts Explained

Most people want to give. What stops them usually isn't generosity, it's not knowing where to start or what the tax side actually looks like. In this episode, Tom Suvansri walks through the charitable giving landscape from the simplest entry point to the most scrutinized. He starts with donor-advised funds, where you can take the deduction now and decide on the causes later. He moves into charitable trusts, how a remainder trust can sell an appreciated asset without triggering the gain, pay you income while you're living, and leave the balance to charity, and how a lead trust reverses that order. He covers the acronyms, CRAT, CRUT, CLT, the ten percent rule of thumb, and why irrevocable means what it says. He closes on leveraged giving, where a donated asset is appraised well above what it cost, why the IRS has tightened rules on things like conservation easements, and how to tell a legitimate structure from an inflated appraisal. Educational only, not tax or financial advice. Resources mentioned: Perennial Pride: https://perennialpride.com/ Wealth Beyond the Numbers by Tom Suvansri: https://perennialpride.com/books/ Connect with Perennial Pride: Website: https://perennialpride.com Email: info@perennialpride.com Phone: (203) 918-6424 Chapters: 00:00:00 - Welcome and introducing today's topic, charitable giving 00:01:00 - Where people stumble: where to donate, how to do it, and the tax side of it 00:03:00 - The simplest starting point: donating cash to causes you care about 00:03:30 - What a donor-advised fund is and why people use one 00:06:30 - Why charitable trusts exist: income needs versus giving needs 00:08:52 - The charitable remainder trust: income now, charity later 00:10:52 - The charitable lead trust: charity first, beneficiaries later 00:13:24 - Leveraged giving: donating an appreciated asset above its cost 00:18:34 - Why the IRS tightened the rules on conservation easements 00:22:00 - The two things that matter most: your why and your team #charitablegiving #WealthStrategy #TaxPlanning #EstatePlanning #PerennialPride