For many donors, the creative use of donor advised funds at the Foundation opens the door to a larger charitable impact than they originally thought possible. Here’s how:

Your fund grows and changes alongside your life

Many people do not realize that a donor advised fund at the Foundation can help simplify giving during major life transitions. If you are preparing for retirement, selling a business, receiving an inheritance, or navigating a particularly high-income year, your donor advised fund can provide flexibility in both timing for income tax planning and philanthropic grantmaking decisions. What’s more, during many of these transitions, it may make sense to look beyond cash gifts and explore using appreciated stock, closely held business interests, real estate, and other noncash assets to fund your charitable goals in tax-efficient ways.

Your fund can help you engage the next generation

Some donors are using donor advised funds at the Foundation to involve children and grandchildren in family philanthropy. Because grants can be recommended over many years to 501(c)(3) organizations locally and across the country, donor advised funds create opportunities for ongoing conversations about values, generosity, and community impact across generations.

The Wayne County Foundation supports your areas of focus

Working with the Wayne County Foundation adds the important elements of flexibility, personalization, and expertise. Unlike national commercial donor advised fund providers, community foundations combine the administrative advantages of a donor advised fund with deep local knowledge and personalized philanthropic support. The Wayne County Foundation can help identify community needs, connect you with nonprofit organizations of all shapes and sizes, and explore creative strategies tailored to your own charitable interests. The Foundation is here to help you support your favorite causes, whatever they may be.

The takeaway? Your donor advised fund at the Wayne County Foundation is much more than just a giving account, it is a flexible tool for building a thoughtful, lasting charitable legacy that supports your favorite causes and the community as a whole. Please reach out to our team to expand your impact and enjoy your philanthropy even more! 

All of this is wonderful! There’s one more step, however, that is often overlooked: Connecting the dots. If you are a donor or fund holder at the Foundation, or plan to establish a fund in the near future, please consider introducing your advisors to our team. A simple introduction can make a tremendous difference in ultimately achieving your charitable goals. Here’s why:

• Attorneys, CPAs, and wealth managers are experts in many aspects of financial and estate planning, and their work is essential in helping you develop and implement strategies through legal documentation, tax filings, and other technical guidance. Not all advisors, however, are experts in charitable giving. 
• The Wayne County Foundation, by comparison, brings to the table specialized knowledge about charitable giving strategies, local nonprofit needs, philanthropic tools that may be best suited for your particular situation, and the types of assets you might consider giving to achieve your goals.
• The Foundation certainly does not offer legal, tax, or financial advice, but we absolutely stay current on legal, tax, and charitable developments. In turn, we can keep you and your advisors informed about which trends to watch. 
• When you establish a fund at the Foundation as part of your charitable plan, our team will handle the paperwork and administration to create and manage that fund. This is often a relief to your advisors, not to mention a relief to you! 

Importantly, collaborative conversations among donors, advisors, and the Foundation are not just for ultra-high-net-worth families. Even relatively straightforward charitable plans can benefit from collaboration between your advisors and the Foundation. In many cases, donors discover giving opportunities they might not otherwise have considered. What’s more, many advisors appreciate having philanthropic specialists available to help explore charitable strategies that benefit both the donor and the causes they care about.

So what can you do? We invite and encourage you to take the lead! A simple email introducing each of your advisors to the Wayne County Foundation team is often all that is required to open the door to better communication and stronger planning. We are always happy to join a conversation with you and your advisors, but a baseline introduction is the most critical part.   When professionals work together, the result is often a more coordinated and impactful charitable plan. By connecting your advisors with the Foundation, you help create a team that can support both your financial goals and your desire to make a lasting difference. We look forward to hearing from you and meeting your advisors! Thank you for all you do to make our community a better place.

In the simplest terms, meeting the moment means responding thoughtfully and generously to the needs that matter most today while still keeping long-term community impact in mind. Sometimes that means supporting immediate emergency relief efforts. Other times, it means helping nonprofits today so that they can build long-term solutions that strengthen our community for years to come.

Here are three tips that may help you and your family consider how you can make the biggest difference:

Think broadly about your charitable giving plan

Many fund holders have adopted a “portfolio approach” to their philanthropy, leaning on the Wayne County Foundation to serve as a convenient and strategic hub. For example, your charitable giving “portfolio” at the  Foundation might include a donor advised fund to support your annual and ongoing charitable giving, legacy provisions to ensure that your impact extends across future generations, capacity-building gifts to the Foundation itself to ensure the growth of philanthropy and impact across our region, and special “field of interest” or “designated funds” to support particular focus areas or specific nonprofit organizations as needs ebb and flow. The combination of multiple fund types and giving structures helps ensure that your dollars make the biggest difference.

Incorporate flexibility as you carry out your charitable giving plan

With the appropriate funds and planning vehicles in place, many donors take the next step to ensure their charitable portfolio allows for flexible funding during times of crisis and transition. Specifically, nonprofits in our community often need unrestricted support so they can respond quickly to changing conditions, invest in staff capacity, and continue serving people effectively even after headlines fade. Donors who understand this can play a powerful role in helping organizations remain resilient and responsive. The Foundation can help you identify instances where it’s most beneficial to provide general support to nonprofit organizations, rather than designating your gift to a specific program or desired outcome.

Consistency is key

Meeting the moment does not mean changing all your charitable priorities overnight, only to revert them back when the moment has passed. There will always be moments of need! Instead, “meeting the moment” means staying informed about current community needs with the help of the Foundation team, remaining flexible in the causes you support and the ways you support them, and responding quickly when your philanthropy can create meaningful impact and your community needs it most. Sometimes, even a small adjustment in timing, focus, or funding approach can make a big difference in the lives of people in need.

As always, the Foundation is here to help. Our team members are deeply connected to local nonprofits and community leaders, which means we are uniquely positioned to identify emerging needs and opportunities for impact. Whether you want to respond to a current challenge, support a specific cause area, or balance immediate needs with long-term charitable goals, the Wayne County Foundation can help you structure your overall giving strategy and serve as a sounding board as you carry out your plans.

Please reach out anytime!

For many attorneys, CPAs, and financial advisors, the tax law changes under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act are old news. However, that may not be the case for your clients! While you’ve been busy reading dozens of articles and evaluating how the changes will impact your clients, many of your clients are just now learning about the changes, especially as issues came to the forefront for them during tax season. Even if you’ve been talking with clients about the changes for months, don’t stop. For many clients, now is the first time they’ll really be listening.  

Here are five things to know: 

• Mainstream media is picking up the pace in its coverage of charitable planning techniques. For example, the Wall Street Journal recently published an article about donor advised funds as a tool for tax savings and community impact. Many clients may not realize that the Wayne County Foundation offers donor advised funds, along with other options for structuring a charitable giving plan to support their favorite causes and address critical community issues. Be sure to reach out to the Foundation whenever a client asks you about setting up a donor advised fund.  
• Thoughtful planning is especially important in light of the new floor on itemized charitable deductions. Starting in 2026, to be eligible for a deduction, a client’s qualified deductions must exceed 0.5% of adjusted gross income, essentially raising the threshold at which charitable giving produces a tax benefit. This could make it advantageous for some of your clients to “bunch” charitable contributions through a donor advised fund, allowing the client to front-load donations into a single tax year to cross the threshold.  
• At the same time, under a “cap” provision in the new law, if a client is in the 37% federal income tax bracket, itemized charitable deductions are now capped at the 35% tax rate. In simplified terms, depending on other factors, this means that if a client donates $10,000, the tax break would be $3,500 instead of $3,700. In short, the floor and the cap add extra complexity to helping clients plan their charitable contributions.  
• The new tax laws have changed the landscape for not only your clients who itemize deductions but also for those who do not itemize. Non-itemizers are now eligible for an “above the line” deduction of $1,000 for single filers and $2,000 for joint filers. Be aware, however, that the new deduction for non-itemizers does not apply to noncash gifts or gifts to donor advised funds. Because both noncash gifts and gifts to donor advised funds are important tax planning tools for many clients, this limitation is worth noting in your discussions.  
• Finally, remember that donating appreciated stock held for more than one year is usually more tax-efficient than writing a check. That’s because it allows your client to avoid capital gains tax on the appreciation. What’s more, clients who itemize deductions will be eligible to claim a tax deduction for the full fair market value.  

Please reach out to the Wayne County Foundation anytime. We know the new tax laws add a lot to your plate, and we are always happy to point you in the right direction as you conduct research and offer counsel to your clients. And remember, you don’t have to jump headfirst into the complexity during your client discussions. Even talking about philanthropy in the simplest terms can help strengthen your client relationships and grow your practice. 

“Charitable lead trust” is far from a household word, and you might not run across the need for one very often in your practice. However, they sure do come in handy in certain client situations. At the Wayne County Foundation, we are happy to establish a donor advised fund or another type of fund to serve as the income beneficiary of a charitable lead annuity trust, or “CLAT,” established by a client.   

It’s worth briefly reviewing the basics of a CLAT because they are having a moment! Here’s what’s going on: 

• The Internal Revenue Service issued Private Letter Ruling 202614004 on April 3, 2026, addressing whether a CLAT can be terminated early by accelerating its remaining payments to charity.  
• The ruling involved a CLAT that so significantly outperformed expectations that the trustee proposed distributing all remaining annuity payments in a lump sum to a donor advised fund, and then winding down the trust.  
• The IRS concluded that this early termination would not trigger self-dealing penalties, would not be treated as a taxable expenditure, and would not result in a termination tax, largely because the payment was made to a qualified public charity and fulfilled the trust’s charitable purpose. 

Of course, as is the case with all private letter rulings, PLR 202614004 represents the IRS’s non-precedential interpretation of tax law and is binding only between the IRS and the specific taxpayer who requested the ruling. Still, private letter rulings are often cited to show the IRS’s probable position.  

So why is this seemingly obscure private letter ruling relevant as an indicator of the IRS’s likely position in similar future situations? Here’s why: 

• CLATs are generally subject to private foundation rules, including strict prohibitions on self-dealing with “disqualified persons.” In this instance, however, the IRS emphasized that a public charity (including a donor advised fund sponsor) is not considered a disqualified person for these purposes, allowing the accelerated payment without adverse consequences. 
• PLR 202614004 highlights that charitable planning vehicles like CLATs may offer more flexibility than previously assumed, particularly when circumstances change or when a trust significantly outperforms projections. What’s more, the ruling reinforces the importance of understanding how technical rules, such as self-dealing restrictions, apply differently depending on the type of charitable recipient involved. 

Charitable lead trusts are extremely complex and can be structured in different ways to achieve a client’s specific tax objectives. Still, as you work with charitably inclined clients, keep an eye out for a scenario that may be well-suited for a charitable lead annuity trust: 

• The client, whose net worth is likely to be subject to estate tax, owns rapidly appreciating assets (such as pre-IPO stock). 
• The client wants to transfer significant wealth to heirs in a tax-efficient way. 
• The client wants to make immediate and meaningful charitable gifts while they are living. 

A client like this could establish a CLAT and name a donor advised fund at the Wayne County Foundation as the income beneficiary. The CLAT would make fixed annual payments to the donor advised fund for a term of years. The donor advised fund, in turn, could support the client’s favorite charities via the client’s grant recommendations.  

At the end of the trust term, any remaining assets in the CLAT would pass to the client’s children or other heirs, often without triggering additional gift or estate tax, assuming the trust was structured properly and investment performance meets or exceeds IRS assumptions. 

For clients who want to enjoy charitable giving during their lifetimes and reduce estate and gift taxes on highly appreciating assets, a CLAT is worth a look. 

Remember that a CLAT is just one of hundreds of charitable giving vehicles through which the Foundation can help your clients achieve their charitable and estate planning goals. As always, please reach out to the Foundation team when working with a charitable client, regardless of where that client is along the charitable giving journey.

As you work with charitable clients over the course of your career, you’ll likely help dozens of married couples establish donor advised funds and other types of funds at the Wayne County Foundation, structure charitable gifts in wills and trusts, establish charitable remainder trusts, and everything in between. 

But what happens to charitable assets in the event of divorce? Over the last few years, in the wake of high-profile divorces, more advisors have been pondering this question. It’s certainly worth considering so you can be prepared if–and likely when–you encounter such a situation. It’s especially important as women play an increasingly important role in a couple’s philanthropy.  

For many couples, philanthropy is deeply personal and closely tied to shared values developed over time. What’s more, advisors who engage both partners on all planning matters, including charitable giving, are more likely, according to research described in a recent white paper, to grow their practices and earn client referrals.  

But from a legal standpoint, charitable giving during marriage is not purely personal; it is often subject to the same rules that govern other marital assets. In community property states, for example, assets acquired during marriage are generally considered jointly owned, and spouses owe fiduciary duties to one another regarding the use of those assets. That framework can create complications when one spouse makes a significant charitable gift without the other’s knowledge or consent. Indeed, unilateral gifts of community property may be challenged, and in some cases, the full value of the gift may be attributed back to the donating spouse in a divorce proceeding. This may be a surprising outcome for clients who assume that charitable intent alone resolves any questions about ownership or control. 

The implications extend beyond outright gifts. Philanthropic vehicles such as donor advised funds, private foundations, and charitable trusts can also become points of negotiation in divorce. These structures may no longer be considered part of the marital estate once funded, but questions about control, governance, and ongoing advisory privileges can still create tension between spouses. 

For attorneys, CPAs, and financial advisors, the takeaway is clear: charitable planning does not exist in a vacuum. Conversations about significant gifts, especially those made during marriage, should include coordination with legal counsel and, where appropriate, documentation of mutual intent. Encouraging clients to align on charitable decisions in advance can help avoid disputes later and preserve both financial and philanthropic goals. 

As always, remember that the Foundation is here for you! Whether a client is considering a current gift, establishing a charitable vehicle, or navigating a complex life transition such as divorce, the Wayne County Foundation can serve as a resource to help implement the recommendations of legal and tax counsel in a way that is both effective and durable. Anytime you are talking with a client about charitable giving, give us a call! Including the Foundation early in the conversation can help ensure that your clients’ charitable intentions are carried out smoothly, even when circumstances change.  

We look forward to working together!

The word “philanthropy” comes from Greek roots, meaning, quite simply, a love of humanity. It’s a big word, but at its heart, it reflects something very personal: the desire to help others, strengthen community, and make a difference in ways that matter to you.

For some people, philanthropy means supporting a favorite nonprofit year after year. For others, it means volunteering time, responding to urgent needs, or thinking carefully about how to create lasting change. However it shows up, philanthropy is not one-size-fits-all. It’s as unique as the people behind it.

That’s where the Wayne County Foundation comes in.

At the Foundation, we believe that everyone has a philanthropic instinct; it just looks different from person to person. Our role is to help you discover, shape, and act on that instinct in a way that reflects your values, your experiences, and your goals. Whether you already have a clear vision or are just beginning to explore what matters most, we’re here to help you connect the dots.

But how, exactly, does this work? What does it look like in real life to get started with the Foundation?

Often, the starting point is simply a conversation. Here’s what you can expect during your first meeting with a member of the Wayne County Foundation team.

We’ll review your favorite charities.

Together, we’ll look at a list of the charities you already support and review each organization to uncover the reasons you love and support each one. This is a crucial starting point because the Foundation is here to help you make the most of what you are already doing, and then build on that to discover how you can get even more involved.

We’ll chat about your story.

We enjoy hearing from our donors about the experiences that have shaped their lives. As we begin this part of our conversation, we’ll explore questions that help unlock where your charitable passions may lie and why. What challenges have you or your loved ones faced? What opportunities made a difference for you? Often, the causes we care about most are connected to our own journeys. Reflecting on these moments can help clarify where you feel most motivated to give.

We’ll talk about what’s going on in our community.

Which local issues capture your attention or spark a strong emotional response? It might be something you read in the news, a local initiative you hear about, or a cause a friend supports. These moments are often clues pointing toward what matters most to you. The Foundation can help provide context for these issues and share information about which organizations are directly addressing the local challenges that top your list.  

We’ll connect with your advisors about structure.

As your charitable purposes come into focus, we would welcome the opportunity to join you for a meeting with your estate planning and tax advisors, or even provide articles you can share with your advisors about charitable giving structures that might help you achieve your goals. Whether your charitable goals are best served via a donor advised fund, unrestricted fund, legacy gift, IRA beneficiary designation, or anything in between, the Foundation can help implement your charitable intentions in ways that your advisors recommend are best aligned with the rest of your financial plan. 

As we take these steps together, remember that you don’t have to have all the answers right away. Philanthropy is a journey, not a destination. It’s okay to start small, to ask questions, and to adjust your approach along the way. Whether you’re ready to establish a fund, looking to deepen your involvement, or simply beginning to think about how you want to give back, the Wayne County Foundation is here to help. Together, we can turn your love of humanity into meaningful, lasting impact, right here in the community we share.

Even if you are new to charitable giving, you’ve likely discovered that there’s no single “right” way to approach making a difference. That’s not only normal, it’s also a strength! Recent research reinforces what many donors already know intuitively: generosity looks different for everyone. Indeed, more than 80% of Americans report giving in some form, whether through financial contributions, volunteering, or civic involvement. The takeaway is simple: there’s no single profile of a “typical” donor. Instead, each person brings their unique values, goals, and experiences to philanthropy.

That’s where the Wayne County Foundation comes in. No matter where you are on your charitable journey, just getting started, giving consistently, or thinking about long-term legacy, we’re here to help you shape a plan that fits.

Consider a few examples that may feel familiar.

Here, there, and everywhere

Some donors find themselves giving generously but without a clear structure. They support a wide range of causes, say “yes” when needs arise, and genuinely want to make a difference, but may not have a coordinated approach. If that sounds like you, a fund at the Wayne County Foundation can help bring everything together. Many donors use a donor advised fund to organize their giving in one place, making it easier to support favorite organizations while also stepping back to think more strategically about long-term impact. Over time, some donors expand their approach to include additional tools, such as field-of-interest funds or legacy plans, creating a more intentional and lasting charitable “portfolio.”

Results matter

Other donors are highly motivated to give but want to be sure their contributions are making a real difference. If you’ve ever paused before making a gift because you weren’t certain how funds would be used, or wondered how to identify the most effective organizations, you’re not alone. The Wayne County Foundation can serve as a trusted partner in these moments, helping you evaluate opportunities, understand community needs, and connect with organizations that are delivering meaningful results. For many donors, this added layer of insight turns hesitation into confidence and leads to deeper engagement over time.

Starting small

Some donors feel strongly about giving but worry that their financial situation limits what they can do. They may already be supporting causes they care about, even in small ways, but assume that more structured or impactful philanthropy is out of reach. In reality, many donors begin with modest contributions and build from there. Establishing a fund at the Foundation, even with a relatively small initial gift, can provide a simple, organized way to give. And if you are thinking about the future, incorporating a legacy gift into a will, trust, or beneficiary designation can create a lasting impact without affecting current finances.

Already rolling!

Of course, many donors are already deeply engaged. You may be actively involved with nonprofits, serving on boards, or exploring more sophisticated ways to align your charitable giving with your financial and estate plans. In these cases, the Foundation can help you expand your impact even further, whether through gifts of appreciated assets, multi-generational giving strategies, or long-term endowment planning that supports the community for years to come.

The common thread across all of these examples is that there’s no single starting point, and no single destination. Charitable giving evolves over time, often alongside changes in your life, your family, and your priorities. What matters most is having the flexibility and support to adapt your approach as those changes occur.

That’s exactly what the Wayne County Foundation is designed to provide. Whether you’re organizing your giving, exploring new opportunities, or planning for the future, our team is here to help you make the most of your philanthropy in a way that reflects your values and goals.

We’re honored to work with donors at every stage of the journey, and we look forward to continuing the conversation.

Next time you meet with your estate planning attorney, it may be a good idea to check in on your long-term plans and ask yourself questions you might not yet have considered. Some planners, for example, report that more and more clients are reconsidering an automatic estate distribution to heirs. Instead, their clients are evaluating what type of legacies make the most sense and working hard to prepare children and grandchildren to receive that wealth. Times are changing, and regular, careful estate plan reviews with your advisors are more important than ever. 

Here are three interesting emerging themes:

They don’t need it or want it.

Sometimes it makes good financial sense for heirs to disclaim inheritances from their parents. This Wall Street Journal article (subscription required) is instructive, noting that heirs can sometimes benefit from refusing an inheritance, allowing assets, especially tax-heavy ones like traditional IRAs, to pass to contingent beneficiaries in a more tax-efficient way. Legal disclaimers provide post-death flexibility for families to adjust estate plans in response to current circumstances, though they must be executed carefully to comply with strict rules.

Strategic giving leads to local giving.

High net worth donors are becoming more intentional and strategic in their charitable giving, focusing on outcomes, alignment with personal values, and long-term impact rather than making purely reactive or broad-based donations. Alongside these changes is a growing preference for supporting local organizations, as donors increasingly want to see the direct effects of their contributions within their own communities.

Hands-on local involvement and proactive planning go hand in hand.

Donors using donor advised funds are particularly locally focused, as evidenced by volunteering statistics. These donors are significantly more likely to volunteer their time, especially within their own communities, demonstrating deeper, hands-on engagement with the organizations they support. This combination of higher volunteerism and frequent giving suggests that donor advised fund donors are not only more active philanthropically but also more personally connected to local causes and community impact.

To learn how these trends might apply to your situation, please reach out to the Wayne County Foundation! Our team is happy to work with you and your advisors to structure a charitable giving plan, including a donor advised fund, cause-specific fund, legacy fund, and more, that meets your overall financial and estate planning goals while also ensuring that your wealth can help improve the quality of life in our region for years to come. 

Recent research underscores just how pronounced this divide is becoming. Individuals with a net worth of $30 million or more, often referred to as ultra-high-net-worth donors, are playing an increasingly outsized role in philanthropy, accounting for a significant and growing share of total charitable giving. At the same time, policy changes are encouraging broader participation at the other end of the spectrum, bringing new donors into the fold even if their initial gifts are modest. The result is a philanthropic landscape that is simultaneously becoming more concentrated and more expansive.

For your ultra-high-net-worth clients, charitable giving is rarely about a single transaction. Instead, it is often deeply integrated into long-term planning around wealth transfer, business succession, and family legacy. These clients may be evaluating complex assets, timing considerations, and multigenerational involvement. Conversations tend to focus on strategy: how philanthropy aligns with identity, values, and long-term impact. The Wayne County Foundation can help you navigate these discussions by offering flexible structures, local insight, and support for engaging the next generation in meaningful ways.

By contrast, clients earlier in their wealth-building years, including the children and grandchildren of ultra-high-net-worth clients, may engage in charitable giving in a more incremental and exploratory way. The availability of a charitable deduction for non-itemizers creates a new opportunity to introduce philanthropy as part of their financial lives sooner than in the past. For these clients, the focus is often on establishing habits, identifying causes, and understanding how giving fits alongside other priorities. Even relatively small gifts can serve as the foundation for lifelong philanthropic engagement. (Note that the new deduction for non-itemizers applies only to cash gifts and is not available for gifts to donor advised funds.) 

These two groups are not just separated by wealth; they operate under different incentives, planning horizons, and motivations. As a trusted advisor, recognizing these distinctions can help you tailor your conversations and add value in more meaningful ways. Some clients may benefit from sophisticated planning strategies, while others simply need a clear and accessible entry point.

Here is one final but important point: Regardless of whether a client itemizes or doesn’t itemize, pay close attention to clients who are age 70 ½ and over and who own IRAs. Qualified Charitable Distributions are a powerful and tax-advantaged tool for clients to transfer up to $111,000 per taxpayer (2026 limit) to support favorite causes. What’s more, proposed legislation may open the door for your clients to use QCDs to fund their donor advised funds at the Wayne County Foundation. Right now, clients can use QCDs to fund field of interest, unrestricted funds, and certain other types of funds at the Foundation, but not donor advised funds.    

As always, the Wayne County Foundation is here to support both ends of this spectrum. Whether your client is structuring a complex gift involving closely held assets or taking the first steps toward organized charitable giving, our team can help you identify the right approach. We are honored to be your partner in serving your charitable clients across every stage of their philanthropy journey.