Giving Guide: Maximize Your Year-End Impact
There are many tax-friendly incentives to donate to organizations like TWP in 2025. Some of these incentives stem from newer tax laws, while others have been long-standing. We’ll review a few ways to make your donation go further in 2025:
Itemized deductions: In 2025 taxpayers that itemize can deduct up to 60% of their Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) via cash donations made to qualifying charities in the U.S., including 501(c)(3) nonprofits like TWP.
Gifts of non-cash assets: Gifts of appreciated stocks or mutual funds transfered directly to a qualifying charity can allow you to avoid paying capital gains tax (since you’re not selling them first). For these gifts the deduction limit is generally up to 30% of your AGI (for tax year 2025).
IRA donations: If you approaching 73 years of age and have an IRA with Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs), you can reduce your tax exposure by making Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCD) directly from your IRA to a charity beginning at 70 1/2. While you can’t deduct a QCD from your AGI, the donation will reduce your IRA balance and reduce future RMDs. For 2025, the QCD cap is $108,000 for individuals and $216,000 for couples.
Stock and mutual funds: TWP makes it extremely easy to transfer shares of stock and mutual funds directly from brokerage accounts at Fidelity, Vanguard, Schwab or UBS to Trees, Water & People. This is a great way to pass on the full value of your gift, without having to pay income tax on the sale of shares first.
For Fidelity:
Account Name: Trees, Water & People, Inc
Account Number: Z20407864
For Vanguard:
Name: Trees, Water & People, Inc - Brokerage
Account Number: 82350069
Don’t use Vanguard or Fidelity? You can still make direct transfers of shares using UBS Wealth Management,
with TWP account number: RC 09649 and UBS DTC number: 0221
Donor-Advised Funds (DAFs): Check with your DAF sponsor for their key deadline, as they vary, for recommending grants from DAFs to ensure gifts are processed before year-end. To be safe for 2025, you should aim to submit your grant recommendation from your DAF to your charity well before mid-December. While there are no distribution requirements for DAFs, please consider giving generously to your favorite local nonprofits that depend on your support to advance their important work.
Cryptocurrency donations: Crypto donations, like stock donations, are a non-taxable event and are eligible for deductions on your income. Give crypto here.
As you plan your year-end giving, 2025 offers a unique window of opportunity. With new charitable-deduction limits arriving in 2026 — including the 0.5% AGI floor and reduced deduction benefits for higher-income taxpayers — many advisors suggest “front-loading” gifts this year to take full advantage of the current, more generous rules. Whether that means making a single, larger contribution (“bunching” your gifts), supporting your favorite nonprofits sooner, or simply being intentional about timing, giving in 2025 can stretch your impact further. It’s a great moment to align your generosity with smart tax planning — and make a meaningful difference at the same time.
We always recommend you discuss your financial decisions with a tax professional or financial advisor to optimize your giving and achieve your personal philanthropic goals.
We hope this was helpful. Thank you for supporting Trees, Water & People and the work we do!
