Charitable giving is an important part of many estate plans. Practitioners have a variety of strategies at their disposal to help clients give generously to the causes they care about, while also getting tax benefits. But little mistakes can cause big problems when it comes to claiming the charitable deduction. In his article, “Recurring Problems in Charitable Planning,” p. 36, Jonathan G. Tidd outlines some of the stumbling blocks regarding charitable planning around the donation. These include avoiding self-dealing when making a pledge and complying with the appraisal rules.
Our Special Report on Charitable Giving also includes some new developments involving philanthropic planning. In his article, “Wyoming’s New Contribution to Philanthropic Planning?” p. 40, Christopher P. Woehrle reviews the emergence of decentralized unincorporated autonomous organizations, which are managed in whole or part by a decentralized computer program, with voting and finances handled through a blockchain. And in “Reverse Discrimination Decisions Threaten Charities,” p. 48, Alexander Reid discusses the recent injunction issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, temporarily halting a racial justice program that provides $20,000 of venture capital funding, digital marketing tools and mentorship to four 51% or more Black women-owned businesses on the ground that it may constitute reverse discrimination. This ruling in American Alliance for Equal Rights v. Fearless Fund Mgmt may lead many charitable organizations to reform or cancel their race-based philanthropic programs.
