The holiday season brings out our generous spirit, but are you giving in the smartest way possible?
In this episode, Certified Retirement Counselor Mark Struthers explains how to make your charitable giving more tax-efficient, emotionally rewarding, and financially sustainable through Donor-Advised Funds (DAFs) and Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs).
Mark breaks down the pros and cons of each, shares practical examples (including his famous “Pebbles Donor-Advised Fund”), and highlights how recent tax law changes, including the SALT cap increase and new charitable deduction rules, can impact your giving this year.
Listen in to learn how you can help others and strengthen your financial plan before year-end.
What You’ll Learn:
- How to make your charitable giving more tax-efficient with DAFs and QCDs.
- The difference between donor-advised funds and qualified charitable distributions.
- How to “bunch” charitable donations to maximize deductions under the higher standard deduction.
- Why gifting appreciated stock can dramatically cut your tax bill.
- How recent 2025 tax updates (SALT cap, AGI limits, and deduction changes) affect your strategy.
- The emotional and health benefits of giving.
Ideas Worth Sharing:
- “Using donor-advised funds or QCDs, you make your giving sustainable. You make it much more efficient. You help others without hurting your financial plan, even helping.” – Mark Struthers
- “Giving isn’t just about the money; it’s about well-being. Generosity reduces stress and increases happiness.” – Mark Struthers
- “This is one of those green light decisions. Using things like donor-advised funds or QCDs, it gives you permission to do the giving to feel good, but also feel good about your retirement.” – Mark Struthers
Resources:
- Work with Mark Struthers
- Subscribe to our Healthy & Wealthy newsletter and get our 2025 Tax Cheat Sheet: Subscribe here
- Donor-Advised Fund | Charles Schwab
- Fidelity Charitable
- Vanguard Charitable
- American Endowment Foundation
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Disclosure:
Investment advisory services are offered through Sona Financial LLC (DBA Sona Wealth Advisors, Sona Wealth, Sona Wealth Management), an investment adviser registered in the state of MN. Sona Financial only offers investment advisory services where it is appropriately registered or exempt from registration and only after clients have entered into an investment advisory agreement confirming the terms of engagement and have been provided a copy of the firm’s ADV Part 2A brochure and document.
This video or article is for educational purposes only and is not exhaustive. Nothing discussed during this show/episode should be viewed as investment advice. Diversification and/or any strategy that may be discussed does not guarantee against investment losses but is intended to help manage risk and return. If applicable, historical discussions and/or opinions are not predictive of future events. The content is presented in good faith and has been drawn from sources believed to be reliable. The content is not intended to be legal, tax, or financial advice. Please consult a legal, tax, or financial professional for information specific to your individual situation.
This content has not been reviewed by FINRA.