A year-end client review typically covers tax-loss harvesting, Roth conversion windows, RMD confirmation, and any last adjustments before December 31 closes out the tax year. Charitable planning belongs on that same agenda, not as a separate conversation squeezed in afterward. For clients who are already charitably inclined, walking through their giving alongside the rest of their year-end picture tends to produce better decisions and a more complete review, and it gives CPAs and wealth advisors a natural way to bring philanthropy into a meeting that is already scheduled.
Put Philanthropy on the Standard Agenda
Adding a few questions to an existing year-end checklist is a low-effort way to make charitable planning a routine part of the review rather than an exception:
- If the client is 70½ or older, have they used this year’s qualified charitable distribution (QCD) capacity, and will it leave the IRA before the custodian’s cutoff?
- Are there appreciated securities that would make more sense to give directly than to sell and give the proceeds?
- Does the client’s existing donor-advised fund, field of interest fund, or other giving arrangement still match their charitable goals?
- Does the client want to make a local gift before December 31 without setting up a new giving vehicle?
Framing these as standard questions, asked of every client where they apply, makes the conversation feel like part of the process instead of a pitch.
A Simple Option for the Final Weeks: Helping Pinellas Now
Late in the year, many clients want to make a meaningful local gift but do not have time, or a reason, to open a new fund. Helping Pinellas Now is PCF’s community-response fund. A gift supports PCF’s operating grants program, emergency response, and other pressing community needs in Pinellas County, and a client can give directly without opening a fund or completing new-fund paperwork.
Helping Pinellas Now does not have a separate year-end deadline. The applicable PCF processing deadlines depend on the gift method:
| Gift type | 2026 deadline | Language to use with clients |
|---|---|---|
| Appreciated stock and securities, or complex assets | Initiate by December 18 | “To ensure your gift is credited to the 2026 tax year, please initiate by December 18.” |
| Wire transfer, EFT, or a grant recommendation from a donor-advised fund held elsewhere | Contact PCF by December 23 | “Please contact PCF by December 23 before initiating.” |
| Cash, check, or credit card | Received, or postmarked if by check, by December 31 | December 31, 2026 is a Thursday and the final trading day of the year. |
For clients who already hold a fund at PCF, the same deadlines apply to adding to that fund before year-end. Clients who want a longer-term structure can open a donor-advised fund at PCF starting at $5,000 and recommend grants to causes they care about over time, with PCF handling the administration.
When Local Charitable Giving Is a Priority
Many clients arrive at a year-end review already holding, or considering, a donor-advised fund through a national sponsor such as Fidelity Charitable or Schwab Charitable. Those platforms offer broad reach, accessible giving options, and a familiar name, and they are a reasonable fit for a client whose primary goal is simplicity. Pinellas Community Foundation offers that same donor-advised fund structure, plus local grantmaking expertise and a direct relationship with the nonprofits doing the work across Pinellas County. Fees from PCF’s donor-advised funds are reinvested locally, into programs, staff support, and grantmaking in Pinellas County.
For a client whose giving is concentrated locally, that local knowledge is a complement to what a national sponsor provides, not a replacement for it. Some clients use both. A client does not need to move an existing donor-advised fund to support Pinellas County: they can recommend a one-time grant from it to a PCF fund. That grant does not create an additional tax deduction, since the deduction was taken when the donor-advised fund was funded. For year-end timing, contact PCF by December 23 before initiating.
A Talking Point Worth Adding to the Deck
For firms that build a year-end presentation or client letter, a short charitable planning section holds up well alongside the rest of the technical content:
- QCD eligibility (age 70½), the 2026 annual limit ($111,000 per person), and the reminder that a QCD cannot be directed to a donor-advised fund at any sponsor.
- The RMD age schedule under SECURE 2.0 (73 or 75, depending on birth year).
- A one-line summary of the 2026 deduction changes for clients who give from taxable accounts rather than an IRA, with the full breakdown for clients who want detail.
- PCF’s 2026 processing deadlines: December 18, December 23, and December 31, by gift type.
Advisors do not need to become charitable planning specialists to include this. The goal is to flag the opportunity accurately enough that the right clients ask for more detail. For help sorting clients by giving route, see Which Clients Could Benefit From Qualified Charitable Distributions?
PCF as a Partner in Your Year-End Planning
PCF can join you in year-end charitable planning conversations with your clients, working in the background or in the room, depending on what you prefer. PCF facilitates transfers of stock and other complex assets, understands standard processing deadlines, and works within your timeline. Complex or illiquid assets, such as real estate or business interests, are handled individually, so contact PCF well before December 18 for those.
Some firms take this further by inviting Pinellas Community Foundation to co-present at an internal training session, client seminar, or educational event focused on year-end charitable planning. That kind of session gives CPAs and wealth advisors a knowledgeable charitable planning resource to point clients to, and it gives PCF’s team direct visibility into the technical questions advisors are fielding.
Bring charitable planning into your firm’s year-end reviews, for a single client or a full presentation.
Contact Meg Lokey, Vice President of Philanthropy at Pinellas Community Foundation, at 727-306-3142 or ml****@********cf.org to refer a client, discuss a client’s charitable goals, or arrange a presentation. PCF reaches out to your client within one business day, only in the way you’ve specified, and you stay in the loop at every step.
