Giving back is an easy and powerful act, but all the advice about what to do before year’s end can become overwhelming! The NCCF team is here to streamline the process and serve as your collaborative partner.

Here are some reminders for year-end charitable giving.

Evaluate “bunching” in 2025. If you itemize deductions on your income tax return, you might have heard that things are changing in 2026 when both a floor and a cap on itemized charitable deductions kick in. This means 2025 offers a unique opportunity to “front-load” or “bunch” charitable contributions into your donor advised fund before the tax landscape shifts. By making a larger contribution in 2025—perhaps representing two or three years of anticipated giving—you can maximize your tax deduction under the current rules while continuing to recommend grants to charities in 2026 and beyond.

Charitable contributions can only reduce your tax bill if you itemize your taxes, which generally happens when the combined total of your anticipated deductions – including charitable gifts – add up to more than the standard deduction. The standard deduction in 2025 for a single filer is $15,000, for married filing jointly is $30,000, and for head of household is $22,500. If your anticipated deductions are less than the standard deduction, you’ll likely choose to take the standard deduction and will not itemize.

Give stock. Evaluate your highly appreciated stock positions and use these assets to give to your fund at NCCF, coordinating with your tax and financial advisors to optimize your 2025 goals. Appreciated assets generally are far better charitable gifts than cash because you not only can take advantage of the income tax deduction, but also you can avoid capital gains tax.

Explore a QCD. Donors aged 70½ or older can transfer up to $108,000 annually from their IRA accounts to a qualified public charity without having to recognize the distribution as income and to satisfy RMDs. The Qualified Charitable Distribution may not be made to a donor advised fund but may be given to other NCCF funds such as your local NCCF affiliate foundation’s grantmaking fund or scholarship funds. Contact the NCCF team to learn why the QCD is so powerful.

November is the time to set things in motion, so you don’t get caught up in the year-end rush. Reach out to our team today – let us turn your generosity into impact!

This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not intended as legal, accounting, or financial planning advice.