December 2025 - EverPar Advisors

Strategic Giving: Three Ways to Give More Intentionally in 2026

The planning conversations designed to help you give more while strengthening your financial plan

By Tim Koski, CIMA®, EverPar Wealth Management

Key Takeaways:

What’s the difference between a donor advised fund and a foundation? Both offer tax benefits in the year you contribute, but foundations often work better for families seeking multi-generational involvement and lasting legacy.
How do you choose which assets to give to charity? We evaluate securities through two lenses: embedded capital gains and how well they fit your current portfolio allocation.
What does success look like beyond tax savings? Together, we can model the potential impact on your financial plan. We also often help facilitate family conversations about values and legacy.

Some of our most meaningful conversations start simply: “We’ve been giving to charity for years, but we’re wondering if there’s a better way to do this.”

Many people give generously—tithing at church, responding to fundraising requests, and supporting causes that matter to them. But these gifts often happen without much planning around timing, tax efficiency, or long-term impact. In our work with clients, we’ve found that a more thoughtful approach to charitable giving can create opportunities for more impact with less tax drag.

Strategic Giving Tools: Three Approaches We Often Explore

When we talk about strategic giving, we’re usually discussing one of three main approaches, depending on your situation and goals: Donor-advised funds, private foundations, and QCDs.

With each of these options, the gift is irrevocable in the year you make it. You receive the deduction that year, and the funds can be managed and distributed over time according to your wishes.

Donor Advised Funds: Flexibility With Tax Efficiency

For many clients, a donor advised fund (DAF) is the most practical tool. Here’s what we typically see: You might give $50,000 to $100,000 annually to various charities, usually by writing checks throughout the year as requests come in or as needs arise.

With a donor advised fund, you can consolidate multiple years of giving into one tax year. You contribute the full amount to the fund to be invested and grow tax-free, taking the charitable deduction that year. Then, you can distribute the money to specific charities over subsequent years, giving you more control over the timing of your gifts.

This “bunching” strategy becomes particularly valuable in years when your income is higher than usual (perhaps from a business sale, significant bonus, or large capital gain).

By concentrating charitable contributions in a high-income year, you can potentially offset some of that tax impact.

Note: For many clients, annual giving falls well below IRS limits (60% of AGI for cash contributions, 30% for securities). But in years with concentrated charitable giving or significant income events, understanding these thresholds becomes part of the planning conversation.

Private Foundations: When Legacy Involves the Next Generation

For families with significant charitable intent (typically considering contributions of $1 million or more), we sometimes explore private foundations. These require more structure and ongoing administrative work—annual tax filings, formal governance, legal compliance—and come with additional costs that can run $5,000 to $15,000 annually.

So why consider a foundation instead of a donor-advised fund? Control and involvement. With a foundation, you can:

Employ family members and compensate them for legitimate foundation work
Maintain complete control over investment decisions
Create formal structures that involve multiple generations in grant-making decisions

These vehicles become particularly valuable in teaching younger family members about stewardship, values, and impact.

Qualified Charitable Distributions: A Smarter Way to Satisfy RMDs

If you’re 70½ or older and taking required minimum distributions (RMDs) from your IRA, there’s another charitable strategy worth considering: qualified charitable distributions (QCDs).

Rather than taking an RMD, paying income tax on it, and then writing a check to charity, a QCD allows you to transfer funds directly from your IRA to a qualified charity. The amount sent to charity counts toward satisfying your RMD, but it is not included in your taxable income.

Once IRA dollars are distributed to you personally, they’re generally taxed as ordinary income. By giving directly from the IRA instead, you’re effectively using pre-tax dollars to support the causes you care about—reducing your tax bill while meeting your distribution requirement.

QCDs can be especially helpful for retirees who:

Don’t itemize deductions
Want to reduce adjusted gross income (AGI)
Are already giving charitably each year

It’s a relatively straightforward tactic, but when coordinated properly, it can make your required distributions work harder for both your financial plan and your philanthropic goals.

QCDs must be made directly from an IRA to a qualified charity and are subject to IRS rules and annual limits. The maximum annual limit, which was $105,000 in 2024 and $108,000 in 2025, increases to $111,000 per individual in 2026 due to inflation indexing under the SECURE 2.0 Act.

The Asset Selection Conversation: What Do You Give?

Once we’ve determined the right vehicle, the next question is: Which assets should you contribute?

This is where strategic giving intersects with portfolio management. We’re typically helping you look at two things:

First, we identify securities with significant appreciation. If you’ve held a stock for years and it’s grown substantially, there’s an unrealized capital gain sitting there. Contributing that asset to charity lets you avoid the capital gains tax you’d otherwise pay if you sold it.
Second, we consider how that security fits within your overall portfolio. Maybe it’s grown so large that it no longer aligns with your target allocation. Or perhaps it’s not performing as well as it once did, and you’vebeen looking for an opportunity to reposition.

When both factors align, providing a large embedded gain and a security that doesn’t fit your portfolio going forward, that’s often the asset we’ll consider contributing. You give the full dollar to charity, we can reallocate within the charitable account without tax consequences, and your portfolio moves closer to its intended structure.

Recently, a client asked me exactly this question while reviewing his holdings. We walked through his portfolio together, identifying appreciated positions and weighing them against his long-term allocation targets. The conversation wasn’t just about maximizing the charitable deduction; it was about making a move that strengthened both his giving and his investment strategy.

What Success Looks Like Beyond Tax Savings

Strategic giving isn’t just a tax play. The real value shows up in a few different ways.

In Your Financial Plan

Money is finite. You can spend it, give it, or lose it to taxes. When we show you the difference between various approaches, you can see how strategic giving affects your long-term wealth trajectory and your ability to meet other goals, whether that’s passing assets to the next generation or maintaining your lifestyle in retirement.

Through Family Engagement

One of the less tangible but equally important measures of success is bringing family members (especially the next generation) into these conversations earlier rather than later.

Instead of accumulating wealth in silence and having your children discover your values and priorities only after you’re gone, strategic giving creates opportunities to talk about what matters:

What causes are important to our family?
What kind of impact do we want to have?
How do we think about balancing our own needs with helping others?

These aren’t easy conversations, but they’re valuable ones. When families use charitable giving as a way to articulate shared values, it often strengthens relationships and helps to create continuity across generations.

With Intentionality

Finally, intentional giving means moving from reactive to proactive. Instead of responding to every fundraising request or writing checks as they come up, you’re making deliberate decisions about timing, amounts, and recipients.

That doesn’t mean you can’t be generous or spontaneous. It just means you’re thinking ahead and planning around your giving in the same way you plan around other financial priorities.

Supporting You Through Comprehensive Care

Strategic giving isn’t a separate planning exercise. It’s woven into everything else we’re working on together: tax planning, portfolio management, estate planning, and family wealth transitions. When done well, it strengthens all of those areas simultaneously.

If you’d like to revisit your charitable giving strategy or explore whether any of these approaches might work for your situation, let’s talk. We can walk through your current giving pattern and see if there are opportunities to create more impact with the same resources.

And if you’re not yet working with EverPar Wealth Management, we invite you to learn more about our approach to comprehensive wealth planning in a complimentary Foundation Session. With EverPar, strategic giving is just one piece of helping you build and preserve what matters most.

Reference: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-25-67.pdf

EverPar Advisors LLC (“EverPar”) is a registered investment advisor. Diversification does not ensure profit or guarantee against loss. Past performance shown is not indicative of future results, which could differ substantially. An investment in the private investments involves significant risks and is suitable only for those persons who can bear the economic risk of loss of their entire investment and who have limited need for liquidity in their investment. There can be no assurance that the investment will achieve its investment objective. An investment in the private investment carries with it the inherent risks associated with the underlying investments. Each prospective investor should carefully review the Confidential Offering Memorandum and Limited Partnership Agreements before investing. The information provided is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice and it should not be relied on as such. It should not be considered a solicitation to buy or an offer to sell a security. It does not take into account any investor’s particular investment objectives, strategies, tax status or investment horizon. You should consult your attorney or tax advisor.

Giving Back: Why We’re Choosing Impact This Holiday Season

Because real change happens when gratitude becomes more than words.

As we head into the holidays, we find ourselves feeling deeply grateful for you, the trust you’ve placed in us, and the privilege of being part of your family’s journey.

We’ve spent this past year helping families like yours think about where legacy and charitable giving intersect: what you’ll leave behind, how your wealth will serve the people you love for generations, and why it all matters.

The truth is, legacy isn’t just about preserving what you have. It’s about deciding what gratitude really looks like when it’s more than just words.

That’s why this year, instead of sending our usual holiday gifts, we’ve chosen to make donations in your honor to three local organizations doing extraordinary work right here in our community. These are organizations that are creating their own kind of legacy by giving families the chance to become stable, thriving households that break cycles and build better futures.

Family & Children’s Services: The Small Things That Aren’t Small at All

For over a century, Family & Children’s Services has been showing up for vulnerable children and struggling families across Tulsa. They run more than 70 programs, from crisis hotlines and trauma counseling to addiction recovery support.

This winter, we’re supporting their work to provide warm coats, blankets, and everyday essentials to families who are stretching every dollar just to get by.

Mental Health Association: Turning “Someday” Into “Today”

Stability has to come first. Everything else builds from there.

That’s the whole philosophy behind the Mental Health Association Oklahoma’s Housing First approach. We’re supporting their move-in kit program, which provides blankets, linens, groceries, and cleaning supplies for families while helping them move into safe, affordable apartments. Eighty percent of these units serve lower-income families, and the rest are specifically set aside to prevent homelessness before it starts.

Lindsey House: Rewriting the Ending

Lindsey House exists for mothers and children who’ve lived through things none of us should have to imagine, including domestic violence and addiction.

What distinguishes Lindsey House is their focus on breaking the cycle of poverty for good. Their program goes far beyond providing shelter. Mothers learn essential life skills, financial literacy, and workplace proficiency. By the time families complete the program, they will have reduced or eliminated debt, stabilized employment, and secured safe, affordable housing.

The work being done there isn’t just changing individual lives; it’s altering generational trajectories and helping ensure that children who arrive in crisis can leave with hope and opportunity.

Our Gratitude

Looking back on these three years since founding EverPar, what stands out most is the trust you’ve placed in us and the privilege of being part of your family’s story.

From our family to yours: Thank you. For your partnership, your trust, and for being the kind of people who understand that wealth is about more than accumulation; it’s about what you do with it.

Wishing you and your loved ones a truly joyful holiday season filled with laughter, rest, and the people who matter most.

To learn more about these organizations, visit Family & Children’s Services, Mental Health Association Oklahoma, and Lindsey House.

Understanding the Big Beautiful Bill: Key Tax Changes for High-Net-Worth Families

Your roadmap for income, business, and estate decisions under the OBBBA’s new tax rules

By Courtney Hoffman CFP®, AAMS™, EverPar Advisors

Key Takeaways:

What’s the most meaningful positive change for high earners? The top marginal tax rate stays at 37% instead of rising to 39.6%. This creates steady, predictable savings for high earners and offers valuable stability for long-term planning.
Where’s the biggest opportunity for wealth transfer? The federal estate and gift tax exemption will increase to $15M per person ($30M per couple) in 2026, offering a chance to protect more of your estate from the 40% estate tax and make strategic gifts or trust transfers.
What planning challenges should I be aware of in light of the OBBBA? The new charitable deduction floor, tighter AMT rules, and shifts tied to OBBBA tax brackets mean some families will see reduced deductions or higher tax exposure. Proactive planning can help you capture available benefits while avoiding surprises.

If you’re managing meaningful wealth across generations, the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBBA) creates both opportunities and considerations worth understanding now. Some provisions lower your tax burden, while others tighten deductions or expand AMT exposure. The key is knowing which pieces affect your family and how to respond thoughtfully.

These are the conversations we’re having with families right now (and what they could mean for your planning).

8 Questions (and Answers) About OBBBA Tax Brackets, Estate Exemptions, and What it All Means for You

One of the most meaningful changes in the Big Beautiful Bill is that the top marginal tax rate stays at 37%. It was scheduled to rise back to 39.6% in 2026, but the bill makes the lower rate permanent.

For high-earning families, that means ongoing, reliable savings rather than a sudden increase. It’s not a dramatic headline, but it does add up year after year.

Just as important, this provision creates stability. When the tax rules are consistent, we can plan with more confidence, whether that’s timing income, making retirement contributions, or coordinating long-term investment decisions.

2. What’s changing with estate and gift tax exemptions in 2026?

One of the biggest opportunities in the OBBBA is the higher federal estate and gift tax exemption. As of December 31, 2025, the exemption is $15 million per individual or $30 million for married couples.

In simple terms, more of your wealth can pass to the next generation without triggering the 40% federal estate tax. For families thinking multiple generations ahead, this exemption creates breathing room to structure trusts, make strategic gifts to adult children, or fund education for grandchildren, all while potentially keeping more wealth in the family.

3. Is the OBBBA raising the SALT deduction cap?

Yes, though there are a few important limitations to understand.

The state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap is being raised above the long-standing $10,000 limit. That’s meaningful for families who pay higher state income or property taxes.

However, two caveats matter:

The expanded deduction begins to phase out once your modified AGI exceeds $500,000.
The change is temporary; the cap is scheduled to drop back to $10,000 in 2030.

In other words, there’s a use-it-while-you-have-it window here, but it’s not unlimited. We’re helping you think about timing for major expenses and preparing for what happens when the cap comes back. The key is taking advantage of the benefit while it’s available, while keeping an eye on the longer horizon.

4. What’s the new charitable deduction floor?

This is one of the tougher changes in the Big Beautiful Bill, especially for families who give generously.

In 2026, your charitable deductions won’t start counting until your giving exceeds 0.5% of your adjusted gross income (AGI). For many donors, that means a smaller portion of your gifts will provide tax benefits.

There’s also a new cap on the value of itemized deductions. Even if you’re in the top 37% bracket, deductions may be valued at 35%. For example, if you have $1 million in itemized deductions, your tax benefit drops from $370,000 to $350,000—a meaningful difference over time.

Because of this, we’ve been proactive with charitably minded clients. For some families, it may make sense to accelerate 2025 giving. Others may benefit from charitable bunching or donor-advised funds to preserve both impact and tax efficiency.

Your generosity doesn’t change because of tax law, but how we structure that generosity can make a real difference in what you’re able to give over the years ahead.

5. How does the OBBBA’s pass-through deduction help business owners?

The 20% qualified business income (QBI) deduction is now permanent under the Big Beautiful Bill, and if you own an S-corporation, partnership, or LLC, this may be a major win.

That deduction can lower the effective tax rate on business income by up to 7.4%. Making it permanent gives business owners the consistency they need for long-term planning.

This change can affect how you think about reinvesting in the business, setting compensation, and structuring growth. We work closely with you and your CPA to make sure you’re capturing the full value of this deduction and integrating it thoughtfully into the rest of your plan.

6. What is the 100% bonus depreciation provision?

This is another meaningful win for business owners. Under the Big Beautiful Bill, 100% bonus depreciation becomes permanent for assets acquired after January 19, 2025.

You can now deduct the full cost of qualifying purchases (equipment, vehicles, technology, and more) in the year you buy them, rather than spreading the deduction over several years. And beyond the near-term benefit, this provision can support faster upgrades, more R&D, and greater flexibility in how you invest in your company’s growth.

The key is timing. If you’re weighing significant equipment or technology purchases, the tax treatment may make this the right moment. We help you evaluate these decisions in the context of your broader financial plan.

7. Is AMT coming back stronger in 2026?

A Quick Refresher: What is the alternative minimum tax (AMT)?

Think of AMT as a backup tax calculation that kicks in when your deductions get too large. Under the new rules, more families will face it (especially those with significant itemized deductions or stock compensation). We track this throughout the year, so you’re never caught off guard.

Under the new law, the AMT exemption phase-out will begin at $1 million for joint filers, meaning more households will be pulled into AMT, even if you’re thoughtful about deductions. This especially affects people with large itemized deductions or incentive stock options, which we frequently see with executives and business owners.

Because these calculations interact with your investment strategy, estate plan, and business structure, we monitor your exposure throughout the year, not just at tax time.

8. How do I know what applies to my situation?

This is the question that matters most, and the honest answer is that it depends entirely on your circumstances. Here’s a quick recap of the key changes we’re seeing across the board.

The positives:

Permanent 37% top OBBBA tax bracket (instead of reverting to 39.6%)
Estate and gift tax exemption of $15M per person / $30M per couple
Higher SALT deduction cap through 2030
Permanent 20% QBI deduction for pass-through business income
Permanent 100% bonus depreciation for business assets

The considerations:

New charitable deduction floor (0.5% of AGI starting in 2026)
Itemized deduction value cap (35% instead of 37%)
Tighter AMT, with more families pulled in
Some provisions are temporary
Wagering losses are now capped at 90% of winnings

Taken together, the Big Beautiful Bill is projected to save high-net-worth families 5–10% on federal taxes in the near term, especially through estate planning and business incentives. We work with you and your CPA to capture these benefits while navigating the new limitations, coordinating the details so nothing falls through the cracks.

Aligning Today’s Choices with Tomorrow’s Goals

The Big Beautiful Bill brings real opportunities and real planning considerations, often within the same provision. What matters most is understanding which changes apply to you and responding with strategy, not guesswork.

These decisions ripple across your taxes, estate plan, business, and charitable goals, and we’re here to help you navigate them with clarity and confidence. If any of these provisions raised new questions for you, or if there’s something we didn’t cover that’s on your mind, please reach out to your EverPar team. We’re always here to talk through what this means for your family.

If you’re not currently working with us, we invite you to explore our Foundation Session, a complimentary meeting designed to give you clarity on exactly these kinds of questions. Because your financial plan matters more than market predictions, and right now, it matters more than political headlines too.

References:

https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/one-big-beautiful-bill-provisions

Month: December 2025