February 2025 Newsletter
A Note from Joe
Your first stop for philanthropy
We hope all is well as 2025 gets fully underway. Our team is very happy that so many attorneys, CPAs, and financial advisors have already reached out following our last newsletter to ask questions about charitable planning techniques that could be a good fit for your clients. We are here to support you as you support your clients’ charitable giving for 2025. It is our honor to be your first call when the topic of philanthropy arises.
Your February Content
Here's what's been trending with advisors recently.
- As tax time approaches, you may encounter one or more of three scenarios related to the timing of IRA distributions, business succession planning, and opportunities to give appreciated stock. Check out Gulf Coast tips captured in our popular “if this… then that” mini case study format.
- Local issues are top of mind for many of your clients. Gulf Coast is uniquely positioned to help your clients make the biggest difference in the areas of our community’s greatest needs while also helping your clients support the full range of their charitable interests.
- The aftermath of hurricanes that affected not only us locally, but also those in North Carolina, to the wildfires in Southern California is heartbreaking to say the least. Gulf Coast is here to help you and your clients as you navigate the options for effective and trusted ways to provide financial support.
It is our honor and pleasure to work with you and your clients. Thank you for partnering with Gulf Coast. We wish you all the best in the coming weeks!
IF THIS...THEN THAT: Tax Time Scenarios
As attorneys, CPAs, and financial advisors, you are well aware that you have clients’ attention when tax season rolls around. This makes it a great time to cover tax planning strategies for the current year and beyond. To help incorporate charitable giving topics into your tax season client conversations, we’ve put together tips to address three scenarios where Gulf Coast can assist your efforts.
Evaluate QCDs sooner rather than later.
| If: Your client missed the 2024 deadline for a Qualified Charitable Distribution… | Then: Make sure the client took an RMD for 2024 (if required to do so). Start planning now for 2025 QCDs, paying very close attention to the required process. QCDs are an excellent tool for your clients who’ve reached the age of 70 ½ to give to a designated, field-of-interest, scholarship or unrestricted fund (donor-advised funds are not eligible), but if the client waits until the last minute at year-end, there might not be time for the transaction to be completed by December 31 as required. Plus, QCDs executed early in the year can help avoid negative effects of the "first-dollars-out rule” so that the QCD can count towards your client’s 2025 RMD. Remember the limit in 2025 is $108,000. |
Watch for charitable giving opportunities in business succession planning.
| If: Your client is beginning to consider exit strategies for a closely-held business… | Then: Reach out to Gulf Coast right away. Gifts of closely-held stock to a charitable fund can be a very useful component of a business succession plan. That’s because a client can gift shares of the business, which in turn means that no capital gains tax will apply to the gifted portion when the business eventually sells. The proceeds of the gifted shares flow into the fund to be used for your client’s charitable priorities. Keep in mind that timing is crucial; if a deal is in the works at the time the shares are transferred to the charitable fund, the charitable deduction is in jeopardy. And if they want income from the sale rather than an outright gift, then a charitable remainder trust (CRT) can be an excellent planning tool. If you need us to run a proposal to illustrate the benefits of a CRT, please contact me. |
Consider gifts of appreciated stock early in the year.
| If: Your client’s stock portfolio made big gains last year… | Then: Evaluate whether it might be wise to make gifts of appreciated stock to a fund at Gulf Coast early in the year, rather than waiting until the end of the year. If certain stock positions are high right now, it’s worth considering whether a gift in the very near future could be a good move to maximize charitable dollars. As a reminder, gifts of stock to a public charity are eligible for a charitable deduction in the amount of the stock’s fair market value at the time of transfer. And, when the stock is sold so that its proceeds can be deployed to further your client’s charitable goals, no capital gains tax will apply. Again, if you have a client that needs out of an appreciated asset but isn’t able to gift it all away, a charitable gift annuity can be the solution. Gift the stock in exchange for a guaranteed lifetime income stream, receive a charitable deduction up front and when the contract expires, the remainder goes to their charity of choice. |
Our goal is to be your go-to sounding board for any client situation where charitable giving is an option. Please reach out anytime you and a client are discussing philanthropy. In most cases, Gulf Coast can help. Even if our tools are not a fit, we will point you in the right direction!
LOVING LOCAL: Gulf Coast is the Place for Local Giving
Most of your philanthropic clients likely support a wide variety of charities year after year. The causes they support represent a range of motivations, including personal experience, a role as a volunteer or board member, family tradition, or alignment with values and community priorities.
While some of your clients may be seasonal, many consider this to be home and support several charitable organizations locally as well as those back in their hometown. That’s important to note because it means that your clients are especially well-positioned to lean into Gulf Coast’s unique position as the hub for charitable giving and local knowledge. Here are three reasons that matters:
- Clients can tap into the team’s knowledge about specific organizations, including financial information, data about the impact of a nonprofit’s programs, and observations of an organization’s areas of greatest need.
- Clients can choose from a variety of fund types depending on what they’d like to achieve. A designated fund, for example, allows your client to set aside tax-deductible dollars that are dedicated to supporting a specific organization. Through Gulf Coast’s services, funds are distributed over time to the charity while the assets remaining in the fund are protected from the charity’s creditors. Another example is an unrestricted fund, which leverages Gulf Coast’s extensive research about the needs of the community and the nonprofit programs that are addressing those needs.
- Clients can work with Gulf Coast to leave a bequest to an endowment fund to support community needs for generations to come. As a perpetual organization, Gulf Coast ensures that charitable giving stays strong in our region to address important needs as they evolve over time
Of course, if your client establishes a donor-advised fund at Gulf Coast, the fund can support local causes as well as causes across the country. As the hub for your clients’ charitable giving, our tools and our team are dedicated to helping your clients achieve their charitable goals both near and far. Working with Gulf Coast, no matter what a particular client’s charitable priorities may be, is itself a strong show of support for philanthropy right here in our community.
Since 2009, Gulf Coast has undertaken regular regional scans to learn what is happening in our region and what challenges face our community members, donors, and public and private partners. We rely on perspectives from these partners, backed with data, to establish priority areas and generate ideas for action. Our current community-informed priority areas include affordable housing, mental health, and water quality and access to green space. You can see the results of the most recent Regional Scan below.
As always, our team helps your clients ensure that their contributions are not only generous but also strategic and impactful. We’ll collaborate with our community foundation colleagues across counties to support a thriving region with opportunities for all.
Your Resource.
As you serve your philanthropic clients, we strive to be your resource and sounding board. Understanding the charitable side of the equation allows us to serve as a secondary source for you as you manage the primary relationship with your clients.
Connect with us anytime! It’s our pleasure to work with you in partnership as you help your clients achieve their charitable giving goals for this year and many years beyond tomorrow.
MORE Resources
February 2025 Newsletter
Your February Content. A note from Joe, tax time scenarios, and the love for local giving.
Top 10 Planning Strategies for 2025
Gulf Coast's top 10 planning strategies for 2025 developed to meet your clients' needs.