“Start, stop, and continue”: Your charitable advising tune-up

The world of tax, financial, and estate planning is changing rapidly. Indeed, accounting professionals are well aware of these dynamics: 86% expect AI to increase their ability to deliver advisory work over the next 12 months, and 44% want their firms to be known for growth-focused advisory by 2030, according to a 2026 Intuit QuickBooks survey of 725 U.S. accounting professionals.

What’s more, philanthropy is becoming central to wealth management, especially as $18 trillion is expected to flow to charitable causes over the next few decades of generational wealth transfer, according to Cerulli Associates, creating opportunities for advisors to connect financial planning with clients’ values, family relationships, and legacy goals.

So—are you bringing your “A game” to this opportunity? Here’s a quick three-part “start, stop, and continue” tune-up to help you enhance your work with charitable clients.

Start asking what clients want their giving to accomplish.

It can be tempting to begin a charitable planning conversation with tools like donor-advised funds, charitable trusts, QCDs, appreciated stock, and the tax benefits associated with each. But new research suggests that starting with the “why” may be more important.

The 2026 Study of the Philanthropic Conversation from The Philanthropic Initiative (TPI) found a few eye-opening gaps between what advisors think motivates high-net-worth clients and what clients themselves say. Advisors, for example, ranked “being an inspiration for others” as the most common motivation for giving, cited by 51%. Among clients, this factor ranked only 11th out of 12 motivations, at just 24%. In addition, advisors were nearly twice as likely as clients to identify reducing taxes as an important motivation—40% versus 21%. Clients instead put making an impact, feeling good about giving, and giving back at the top of the list.

If you aren’t already doing so, start your charitable conversations with a question: “What would you like your charitable giving to accomplish?”

The answer may lead to a tax strategy, a particular giving vehicle, a family conversation, or something else entirely. As always, the team at YouthBridge is honored to be your first call as a charitable giving resource. We can help you explore what matters to your client and then work with you to identify charitable strategies that fit.

Stop steering clients toward “too good to be true” charitable giving arrangements.

A few months ago, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and IRS issued final regulations identifying certain abusive charitable remainder annuity trust (CRAT) arrangements as “listed transactions,” triggering disclosure requirements for certain participants and their advisors.

The specific type of transactions targeted by these regulations generally involve transferring appreciated property to a purported CRAT, selling the property, using the proceeds to purchase a single premium immediate annuity, and then misapplying tax rules in an effort to avoid ordinary income or capital gains taxes. The IRS emphasized that it will continue to scrutinize these arrangements and that failure to comply with required disclosures may result in penalties.

“I doubt I’ll ever set up a CRAT in my entire career,” you may be thinking. Which may absolutely be the case! The point is that CRAT regulations are just one example in a long line of situations where the IRS has cracked down on abusive charitable giving arrangements. If you are ever tempted to implement trendy and aggressive techniques, stop. Pausing for a moment to call YouthBridge Community Foundation for a gut check may be a wise move to protect your clients and protect yourself.

Continue bringing the family into the conversation.

Here’s something you may already be doing—and the latest research offers a compelling reason to keep doing it.

The same 2026 TPI study found that 95% of advisors believe discussing philanthropy is important for building relationships with clients’ extended families, up from 71% in 2018. Clients see the value, too: 78% of high-net-worth clients said including extended family members in philanthropic conversations is important. And there is a business-development benefit. Eighty-eight percent of advisors said philanthropic conversations deepen existing client relationships, while 92% said they help establish new relationships.

Meanwhile, ultra-high-net-worth Americans (those with a net worth of $30 million or more) donated approximately $107 billion to charity in 2025, according to Altrata’s High Net Worth Philanthropy 2026 report, as reported by InvestmentNews—reflecting the growing importance of philanthropy in wealth management and estate planning. The same TPI study also reveals a disconnect between clients and advisors: 75% of high-net-worth clients say they would be more likely to select an advisor who is knowledgeable about philanthropy, yet only 45% of advisors say they discuss philanthropy with most of their clients, according to InvestmentNews. As younger generations inherit significant wealth and embrace charitable giving, advisors who incorporate philanthropy into their practices may be better positioned to strengthen client relationships and retain families across generations.

So keep talking about philanthropy—and look for opportunities to widen the conversation. A discussion about the causes a client cares about can provide a natural, low-pressure way to bring children and grandchildren into the room, learn what matters to them, and begin building relationships across generations.

YouthBridge can help here, too. Whether the goal is involving the next generation, establishing a family giving tradition, or simply helping clients articulate what they want their philanthropy to accomplish, we’re happy to join you in the conversation. We look forward to hearing from you!