With fall fully underway, it's a good time to start thinking about year-end financial planning, including your charitable giving. Here's a strategy worth knowing about: it's called "bunching."
Since tax law changes back in 2017, fewer people benefit from itemizing deductions each year. But by combining several years' worth of planned charitable gifts into a single year, you may be able to itemize in that year and take the standard deduction in others, potentially saving more overall.
A donor-advised fund makes this easy. You make one larger gift now and then recommend grants to your favorite charities over time, on your own schedule.
Two more tips at year-end: giving appreciated stock instead of cash can mean a bigger tax benefit, and if you're 70½ or older, you can give directly from your IRA tax-free.
Curious whether bunching through a fund makes sense for you? Community foundations are happy to help you think it through.