At Berks County Community Foundation, we are honored to work with you and so many other families, individuals, and businesses to help organize your charitable giving and support favorite charities that make a difference in our community.
As the year winds down, here are 10 giving tips to keep in mind:
- Remember that 2025 is a pivotal year for charitable planning. With more stringent charitable deduction limitations taking effect in 2026 under new tax laws, this year may offer a favorable tax environment for your giving depending on your personal situation. Talk with your tax advisors as soon as possible.
- Work with your tax advisors to evaluate the benefits of “bunching” multiple years of charitable gifts into 2025. By front-loading contributions, you may be able to exceed the standard deduction this year and maximize your tax benefits.
- Use a donor-advised fund to simplify year-end giving. You can make one tax-deductible contribution now, receive the deduction in 2025, and recommend grants to nonprofits over time, throughout 2026 and beyond.
- Give appreciated stock instead of cash. Donating long-term appreciated securities may eliminate capital gains tax and in turn increase your charitable impact. Talk with our team and your tax advisors as soon as possible so these gifts can be processed well before the end of the year.
- Explore giving from your IRA if you’re 70½ or older. A Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) can reduce taxable income and, if applicable, satisfy required minimum distributions—to the tune of $108,000 per taxpayer in 2025. IRS rules allow you to make QCDs to a wide variety of funds at the Community Foundation (but not to your donor-advised fund).
- Check to see whether you’ve met your charitable goals for 2025. Don’t wait until late December to review your plan. Our team can help you think through options for this year and begin to coordinate more complex gifts for next year.
- Support the community overall by making gifts to existing funds at Berks County Community Foundation. 2025 has been a tough year for many people in our community, and our team can help you support families in crisis both now and in the future.
- Review your beneficiary designations. Naming your fund as a beneficiary of an IRA or other retirement account can create meaningful future gifts while reducing the tax burden on heirs.
- Avoid last-minute surprises. Gifts of complex assets—such as real estate or closely-held stock—require additional steps and a lot of lead time, so contact us early if you’re considering these options. Even if it is too late to complete these gifts in 2025, start working with our team on options for 2026 gifts.
- Above all, lean on the team at the Community Foundation! We are here to help you explore the most tax-efficient ways to meet your charitable goals, whether you’re planning year-end gifts, updating a legacy plan, or thinking ahead to the changes coming in 2026.
Thank you for the opportunity to work with you. We look forward to supporting your charitable goals this year and for many years to come.
This solicitation is valid only for residents of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Did you know that August is Make-a-Will month in the United States? While preparing a will might be a task that most dread, it is important for those left behind. A will is a document usually prepared by your attorney to ensure your final wishes are established. Preparing a will can provide peace of mind for you and for your family.
Berks County Community Foundation can help to ensure that your charitable goals are met after you’re gone. Working with the Community Foundation offers a unique and powerful way for individuals to make a lasting impact in their community by creating a charitable fund through their will.
For three decades, staff members of the Community Foundation have had the honor of meeting with individuals and families as they prepare their wills. Participating in these discussions includes learning about each person or family and the causes most important to them.
An easy and meaningful way to support those causes and organizations that align with your values and passions is by establishing a fund with the foundation. This can be done by including a provision in the will that directs a specific asset or portion of your estate to the Community Foundation, which will be used to establish a named fund in your memory or in honor of a loved one.
The process of creating a fund through a will is simple. You can work with your attorney to include language in your will that directs assets to the Community Foundation. You can also consult with our staff to determine the most appropriate type of fund for your charitable interests and goals. Once the will is executed, we will work with your executor or personal representative to establish the fund according to the instructions provided in the will.
Creating a fund at the Community Foundation through your will not only provides a way for you to make a lasting impact in your community, but also offers a range of giving options. Funds may be established to respond to the most pressing needs in the community, to support a general field of interest, or to benefit a specific organization or multiple organizations.
Knowing that you have a plan in place can provide significant peace of mind. Creating a fund ensures your assets are distributed according to your wishes. It can also be a way for you to make a difference in the lives of others, even after you are gone.
In honor of Make-a-Will month, feel free to contact us with any questions about your estate plans by emailing give@bccf.org.
When I started at the Community Foundation 27 years ago, I spent 60% of my time marketing the foundation to professional advisors – attorneys, accountants, trust officers, and financial advisors.
The foundation was only three years old, so no one knew much about what a community foundation was or the fact that there were already 32 community foundations in Pennsylvania and 800 nationwide.
Many of the advisors thanked me for the introduction to the Community Foundation but made it clear that their professional practice did not include estate planning, and they would probably never be able to refer someone. Even so, over the past 27 years, many of those advisors who thought they would never have a client who would be able to work with the Foundation have since helped their clients establish funds with us.
I was not raised here, but one of the things I love about Berks County is the philanthropic nature of the community. I have witnessed firsthand people rallying to support a nonprofit organization that was struggling financially or a family or individual in need of help. The people I see helping are not high wealth individuals. They are regular folks who want to make people’s lives easier. You don’t see that in every community.
What I have found even more special is the inconspicuous nature of giving in this community. We established the Franklin Society over 15 years ago, – a legacy society to recognize those who have considered the Community Foundation in their estate plan. When we work with individuals on setting up a testamentary fund (one that will be funded upon their passing), we always ask if they would like to join the Franklin Society.
Since the Community Foundation was founded 30 years ago, 55 funds have been established as an estate bequest. We have worked with 90 other individuals who have named the Foundation in their estate plans.
Of those donors, we still only have twenty members of the Franklin Society. Berks Countians don’t give for recognition; they give to make sure something happens to benefit their community.
Even through economic downturns like 2008, the community did not stop giving. Those that could give gave more because they knew others were struggling.
It is that kind of philanthropic spirit that makes Berks County a special place.
