Year-End Philanthropy: Last-Chance Checklist for Financial Advisors

As the calendar turns to December, many clients find themselves reassessing their financial picture and contemplating their philanthropic goals. Year-end often brings renewed focus on life events, market activity, tax exposure, and the impact they hope to make before December 31.

Financial advisors play a critical role in helping donors translate those intentions into a disciplined, tax-efficient year-end giving strategy.

For clients already using donor-advised funds, these conversations tend to be more streamlined. DAFs are flexible and efficient charitable vehicles that uncomplicate the grantmaking process, and some DAF sponsors can even work with you and your clients to develop highly impactful and personalized philanthropic strategies.

As you help clients navigate Giving Season, consider the following six planning priorities to ensure their charitable goals and tax strategies are fully aligned.

1. Review Philanthropic Goals with Clients

Get the conversation rolling by clarifying your clients’ philanthropic goals, both this year and in the longer term. A focused review will help them identify the causes, nonprofits, or issue areas they intend to support.

Encourage clients to:

• Revisit their values, priorities, and personal mission.
• Reflect on major events this year—life transitions, market shifts, or global events that shaped their perspective.
• Engage spouses, children, or other family members, particularly if multigenerational giving or legacy planning is important to your client.

2. Evaluate Appreciated Assets

With the market posting solid gains across much of 2025, many clients may now hold positions that have appreciated significantly over the year. This is an opportune moment for advisors to review portfolios for low-basis, long-term assets that could be strong candidates for charitable giving. Donating appreciated assets through a DAF can help clients reduce capital gains exposure while maximizing their philanthropic impact.

Key actions for advisors:

• Prioritize positions with the largest unrealized gains, especially those that no longer fit the client’s long-term allocation or risk profile.
• Consider strategic tax benefits, such as using appreciated assets to offset gains realized elsewhere in the portfolio.
• Educate clients on why giving appreciated assets is often more efficient than giving cash.

3. Confirm Contribution Deadlines

Timing is critical—especially in December. Different asset types have different processing deadlines, and delays can jeopardize a client’s ability to claim a deduction for the 2025 tax year.

Advisors should:

• Map out cut-off dates for contributions of securities, ETFs, wires, checks, and digital assets.
• Communicate deadlines early to avoid bottlenecks and client frustration.
• For full details, consult NPT’s Donor Deadlines for 2025, which outlines deadlines by asset class and contribution method.

4. Maximize Tax Benefits

With major tax code changes taking effect January 1, 2026, now is the time to help clients implement giving strategies that maximize both charitable impact and tax efficiency under the current rules. Beginning in 2026, individuals who itemize deductions will no longer be able to deduct charitable gifts unless their total donations exceed 0.5% of adjusted gross income. Also in 2026, for taxpayers in the top 37% bracket, the tax benefit of itemized charitable deductions will effectively be limited to 35% per dollar donated.

Given these changes, advisors should encourage clients to:

• Accelerate larger charitable contributions in 2025.
• Consider bunching and front-loading strategies—i.e. combining several years of planned giving into a single 2025 contribution.
• Coordinate charitable contributions with other income events or tax considerations such as RMDs or liquidity events.

5. Plan for Grantmaking

Year-end grantmaking is the fundraising backbone for nearly every nonprofit. So while generosity may serve your clients’ tax purposes and their own personal philanthropic goals at any time, giving during this time of year in particular also greatly benefits the nonprofit sector. Remind your clients that gifts received during the month of December alone are essential for many nonprofits to achieve their annual fundraising goals.

Important reminders for clients:

• December giving helps nonprofits meet annual fundraising goals and sustain mission-critical services.
• If clients intend to contribute before year-end but prefer to recommend grants next year, a DAF allows them to separate the deduction event from the granting decision.
• Year-end is also an excellent time to reassess grant portfolios, deepen commitments, or explore new organizations aligned with their goals.
• For guidance on how DAFs can be used to execute different philanthropic strategies, share NPT’s educational resource: Can I Use My DAF for That?

6. Set the Stage for a Successful 2026

Year-end conversations open the door to long-term charitable planning and broader wealth planning discussions.

Strategic topics to explore:

• Multi-year giving strategies and planned grant schedules
• Engaging family members in philanthropy
• Aligning charitable planning with legacy and estate plans
• Expanding or establishing DAF accounts to support long-term giving goals

For more guidance on integrating philanthropy into comprehensive planning, browse NPT’s DAF Insights series.

Guiding your clients through their year-end giving isn’t just an exercise in tax planning. It’s a relationship-building opportunity that underscores your holistic advisory value.

During Giving Season, you have the opportunity to support your clients’ philanthropic goals and help them achieve a positive and meaningful impact. As you help your clients navigate their year-end giving and develop their future philanthropic strategy, the relationship that develops will assert you as an exceptionally well-rounded financial planning resource.