Julia McDonald

This Saturday, December 13, hundreds of volunteers will come together for one of Memphis’s most heartfelt holiday traditions—Team Max Operation Christmas Basket.

As year-end approaches, we often get questions about making charitable gifts using Qualified Charitable Distributions, or QCDs. A QCD allows individuals aged 70½ or older to donate directly from their IRA to a charity, avoiding taxes on the donated amount.

Looking to make your giving go further? Two strategies are especially helpful: “bunching” your donations and giving appreciated assets.

This summer, Congress passed the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” bringing big changes to charitable giving starting in 2026. One of the most notable updates: if you take the standard deduction, you’ll now be able to deduct cash gifts—up to $1,000 for individuals, or $2,000 for married couples—directly to qualifying charities.

Each year, the Association of Fundraising Professionals – Memphis Chapter honors those who embody the spirit of giving through the Crystal Awards. This year’s honorees remind us how generosity can take many forms.

When a group of local Black nonprofit leaders gathered for a town hall in 2023, the room filled with energy, urgency, and hope. From that moment, the Black-Led Nonprofit Leadership Alliance was born—a coalition of 18 executive directors committed to helping funders better advance racial equity in philanthropy.

We asked Rob Hughes, Vice President of Development at Porter-Leath and a Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy®, to share some tips on making charitable gifts through your estate plan.

October 28 is National Immigrants Day, first established by President Ronald Reagan as a time to recognize the achievements and contributions of immigrants who have enriched our nation’s cultural, social, and economic landscape. In Memphis, five percent of residents are immigrants or refugees, strengthening our communities through their skills, businesses, and traditions.

October 20 kicks off National Estate Planning Awareness Week—a reminder that intentionality can help create a legacy that includes not just your assets, but also the values and causes you care about. Jason Salomon, attorney with Harkavy McDaniel Kaplan & Salomon, says charitable giving is an essential part of his estate planning conversations with clients.

We asked Harris Shelton estate attorney Chad Roberts to share what he wishes people would know about estate planning.