'Tis the season: Three tips for year-end giving

As your donors gear up for the year-end giving season, it’s more important than ever to stay in front of them with clear, simple messages about how they can support both your annual campaigns and your long-term reserves—especially with major charitable deduction changes taking effect in 2026.

Here are three key reminders that remain surprisingly overlooked, even among longtime donors.

Promote gifts of appreciated stock

Donating long-term appreciated securities continues to be one of the most tax-efficient ways for donors to support your organization because it eliminates capital gains tax while allowing a deduction at fair market value. Donors often default to writing a check, missing out on significant tax savings—and this is important, particularly after strong market performance in 2025 in many stock positions. As always, Kitsap Community Foundation can help facilitate gifts of appreciated stock to your endowment or operating fund at KCF to ensure donors achieve maximum benefit before next year’s less favorable rules take effect for donors who itemize deductions.

Keep emphasizing Qualified Charitable Distributions

Even though QCDs have been around for years, many eligible donors remain unaware of them or confused about how they work. Your year-end outreach should include a clear reminder to donors age 70½ and older that they can make up to $108,000 in QCDs for 2025. With the new AGI floor and deduction cap taking effect in 2026, QCDs will become even more valuable because they bypass itemized deduction limits altogether. Encourage donors to consult their tax advisors.

Encourage donors to watch the calendar

Certain gifts—including QCDs and transfers of appreciated stock—require multiple processing steps and cannot be executed at the last minute. While your team moves quickly, you can also lean on our Kitsap Community Foundation team for help, but it’s best to allow several business days to ensure everything is completed properly. Remind donors that checks must be postmarked or hand-delivered by December 31, and marketable securities must fully transfer by year-end, whether through KCF or directly to your organization.

We look forward to working closely with you and your colleagues to help your donors finish 2025 strong and position themselves wisely ahead of the 2026 tax law changes.