Charitable questions: building the discussion (part 2)

In the previous article we began discussing the topic of charitable questions and now we are going to continue it.

Commonly business owners see CPA’s as an expense, so sometimes it may be really difficult for them to schedule a meeting time for the discussion of  charitable questions.  Even if the CPA wants to encourage his/her clients to be generous and to include charity in their estate planning, the question of how to do that and when is often asked.  The question of smart giving is tightly connected to the topic of tax savings, but also it intersects with another important aspect – family goals, emotions, human needs.

Clients who decided to end up with their unnecessary assets yearn for well crafted plans.  So CPAs should bring up these discussions, but when should they do it?  Some of the clients may request a specific meeting about tax-advantaged charitable giving.  Maybe a better strategy is to incorporate these conversations into the tax return review and client meeting process.

You should also remember that charitable questions need be asked several times to be answered.  Smart giving especially concerning tax saving with a complicated scenario needs time to soak in.  The deeper questions that will appear, such as giving annually, volunteerism, appreciated assets or business sale will help you to continue this conversation constantly.  Your client may be also interested in creating Private Foundation or Donor Advised Fund.

A lot of people want to make donations, but they just need someone to encourage them, to give them an efficient advice.  In case you want to talk about specific topics that you are not competitive in you should always remember about your Community Foundation.  Every county in Indiana is represented by a community foundation, thanks to the generosity of the Lilly Endowment.  Community foundations provide the needed hub between donors, professional advisers and non-profits.