Insights Archives - Whidbey Community Foundation

Trust in action: Your favorite nonprofits know what they need

Posted on October 14, 2026October 15, 2026 by Maureen Rice

If you’ve supported a particular charitable organization for many years, and perhaps even served on its board of directors, you are likely familiar with some basic concepts of “trust-based philanthropy,” even if you didn’t know that’s what it is called.

As a consistent supporter of the nonprofit organizations you love, you know an organization’s chances of success are greatest when its leadership and talented staff can deploy resources in the ways they believe will best fulfill the mission. This, in turn, sometimes translates into an organization placing a high value on what are called “unrestricted” donations, meaning that the organization can use the dollars where they are needed most.

Gotcha! This missing sentence can cost your clients a lot of money

Posted on October 13, 2026October 15, 2026 by Maureen Rice

If you advise charitable clients in your practice, you are no stranger to the IRS’s requirements for substantiating charitable deductions.

In some cases, however, tax advisors and their clients are so focused on valuing the gift and filing the Form 8283 that they overlook the requirement for a “contemporaneous written acknowledgment.” And this can derail the deduction! It sure was for the taxpayers in Wells v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2026-49, involving a claimed charitable deduction carryover stemming from a gift of Mississippi real estate to a nonprofit organization.

Cultivating the “big bequest”: Paving the way for a bright future

Posted on October 12, 2026October 15, 2026 by Maureen Rice

Every organization dreams of that game-changing, multi-million-dollar bequest that seems to come completely out of the blue. We’ve all heard stories about a nonprofit learning that a longtime supporter has left a major endowment gift through a will, trust, IRA beneficiary designation, or other legacy planning arrangement. “When is our big gift coming?” you wonder.

IRAs, charitable giving, and two distinct opportunities

Posted on October 10, 2026October 15, 2026 by Maureen Rice

IRAs may not be the very first thing that comes to mind when you and your colleagues implement fundraising strategies. But they probably rank in the top three! That’s because Americans who have spent decades in the workforce have watched their 401(k)s, IRAs, and other retirement accounts grow, making retirement accounts a significant part of many donors’ wealth and, in turn, their charitable plans.

Apples and oranges: Lifetime and legacy giving with IRAs

Posted on October 9, 2026October 15, 2026 by Maureen Rice

Retirement assets are becoming an increasingly important part of charitable planning. Americans hold more than $50 trillion in retirement accounts—nearly $20 trillion of which are held in IRAs. Meanwhile, the Great Wealth Transfer is underway, with more than $120 trillion expected to change hands over the coming decades.