CHARITABLE PLANNING

Gillian Howell

The way people give will shift with changes in demographics and technology.

HILE CHARITABLE GIVING OFTEN PEAKS AT year’ s end, the most effective philanthropy is anything but seasonal. For financial advisors, philanthropy is a powerful year-round tool— one that deepens their relationships with clients. It also enhances clients’ estate plans, optimizes their tax efficiency, and helps them build meaningful legacies since they can engage with their families around shared values.

As your clients finalize their giving for 2025 and begin planning for 2026, it will help you to stay informed about the latest trends in the philanthropic sector so you can provide more strategic guidance. This will prove especially helpful in light of new tax laws that will take effect on January 1 from the One Big Beautiful Bill.( We discussed these changes in Financial Advisor’ s November 2025 issue.) Advisors will need to coordinate closely with clients to ensure they’ re giving in the most thoughtful and tax-advantaged manner.

Here are three key areas to watch and practical steps to help clients make the most of their giving— as well as their overall financial picture— in the year ahead.

1. Funding Priorities: Economic And Political Shifts Are Reshaping Need

The rapidly shifting economic, political and social landscape has also altered the flow of philanthropic dollars and the calls by those most in need. Federal spending cuts and the realignment of corporate giving programs, for instance,

The rapidly shifting economic, political and social landscape has altered the flow of philanthropic dollars and the calls by those most in need. have left many nonprofits facing greater demand with fewer resources. From our annual research of private philanthropy, we’ ve observed that private foundations and private philanthropists are increasingly filling gaps created by these decreases in government and corporate funding. These givers can respond quickly to urgent and emerging needs— in areas like education, public health and social services— and they can support innovations that other funders may overlook.

As an advisor, you can help your clients identify areas where their philanthropic dollars can have the most meaningful long-term impact. For example, you can encourage them to not only provide immediate relief for pressing needs but also look for ways to collaborate with nonprofits— helping them build capacity by providing staff training and strategic planning support so they can more effectively achieve their charitable missions.

One of the things that can help you is philanthropy technology( or“ PhilTech,”) which can equip you and your clients so you can more efficiently manage charitable giving. This rapidly evolving technology helps givers streamline their data collection, evaluate outcomes, and even use AI tools that help them identify underfunded regions and causes. These innovations not only enhance donors’ efficiency but also enable philanthropy that’ s data-driven and proactive rather than reactive.

DECEMBER 2025 | FINANCIAL ADVISOR MAGAZINE | 19