Published by Jessica Weisman-Pitts
Posted on June 20, 2023
4 min readLast updated: February 1, 2026
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By Joe Fisher
As tax time fast approaches, it’s one of the best times to look at how financial institutions and their advisors can add additional philanthropic planning services to their offerings in order to bring even more value to their clients while also expanding business.
While cementing a reputation for a more comprehensive approach to financial planning, wealth management firms can also use some of the latest giving tools, especially donor-advised funds (DAFs), to boost their relationships with clients. This also gives them the opportunity to play a growing role in the philanthropic ecosystem that benefits countless causes throughout the United States each year.
As one of the country’s fastest-growing giving vehicles, DAFs enable individuals and families to place irrevocable gifts into a DAF account and receive an immediate tax deduction. The DAF account is legally controlled by a qualified public charity, but it arms the individual donor or their representatives with the ability to maintain advisory privileges surrounding the distribution of grants as well as the investment of its assets. Financial advisors can suggest a DAF to their clients to bring a powerful mix of tax advantages as well as the ability to provide a powerful path toward easy and consistent giving processes.
Nearly anyone with a desire to begin or grow their philanthropic giving, even in small steps, can use a DAF. And it can be especially appealing for both advisors and their clients because it brings an abundance of opportunities, including:
Expanding their assets under management, financial institutions are also using DAFs to enable their clients to avoid capital gains tax on appreciated assets or estate taxes while still preserving their clients’ meaningful level of involvement in the growth of the fund and distribution of its charitable grants. This can be a notable and especially appealing factor for clients because grant recommendations can be made to causes that are as local as a nearby charity in their community or to a national organization in a time of great need due to natural disasters or other events. It’s a philanthropic enablement tool that can also be faster and more organized than other paths or one-off gifts.
Another appealing feature of a DAF allows donors to contribute several types of assets other than cash or cash equivalents, including securities and mutual fund shares, restricted shares, most types of real estate, equity in a business, and even cryptocurrencies. This flexibility can bring a rich mixture of asset type flexibility and generational wealth considerations – as future generations can be named to continue DAF grant recommendations throughout the remainder of their lives, their children’s lives, and so on.
Wealth management firms’ advisors can harness these many attractive advantages and the flexibility to create an opportunity to play an even more meaningful part in their clients’ lives and perhaps even work with additional family members or representatives that may ultimately succeed them in making their DAF grant recommendations for decades to come. During tax time and related meetings with clients, consider looking at DAFs to introduce this generational giving approach that’s easy and can begin with donations both large and small.
Joe Fisher is the President and CEO of Ren (www.reninc.com), a leading independent provider of philanthropic services.
A donor-advised fund (DAF) is a charitable giving vehicle that allows individuals to make irrevocable contributions to a fund, receive immediate tax deductions, and recommend grants to charities over time.
Wealth management is a comprehensive service that combines financial planning, investment management, and other financial services to help clients manage and grow their wealth.
Philanthropic planning involves strategizing charitable giving to maximize the impact of donations while considering tax implications and personal values.
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