Julie and Jim believed in the adage:  “We make a living by what we get.  We make a life by what we give.”   But each year, they ended up scrambling to make their tax-deductible charitable deductions before December 31st.   Some years, they had to sell stock in order to maintain their desired level of support for their favorite organizations. 

They learned the advantages – both to the charity and to their tax situation – of donating appreciated stock.  They created a donor-advised philanthropic fund and put some of their savings in this fund each year to build up their charitable assets for the future so they could continue charitable giving throughout their lifetime.