A New Tax Year Means Time for a Spring Clean

The start of a new tax year is a perfect opportunity to reflect on your client’s long-term investment objectives and offer a ‘spring clean’ of their giving strategy.

With global affairs making the economic outlook unpredictable, we understand that donors will be thinking carefully about where their investments and charitable activity is best directed.

To help support your client, we have put together a short list of considerations to ensure your client can have the biggest impact at the start of this new tax year.

Motivations and interests

Philanthropy is often described as a journey, not a destination. The questions you ask your client should offer an invitation for them to express themselves and their motivations. Do they want to have a long-term impact? Is legacy their main interest? Are they interested in uniting their family around common goals, or are they simply driven by a desire to give back to the causes that matter most to them?

Philanthropic tools

Take time to look over all the philanthropic tools available to your client, and which best suits their needs. Donor-advised funds are popular charitable giving vehicles, with many donors choosing them as an alternative to setting up their own charitable trust or foundation due to their convenience, tax efficiency, and unrivalled flexibility in terms of contribution and investment options.

Time over money

Grantmaking is only one form of philanthropy. There are others to consider: volunteering time, participating in campaigns and encouraging peers in their network to support social causes are all effective practices that your client can invest in to help build a better world.

Plan for the future

Your clients might have made significant donations during the last tax year, but it’s worth reminding them to consider top-up contributions to their DAF account during this new tax period. This kind of financial planning will ensure their future philanthropic plans are achievable and will help your client have a greater impact over the long term.

The world of philanthropy, charitable endeavours and impact investment can seem difficult to navigate, especially at the start of a new tax year. But it doesn’t need to be. A combination of confidently addressing both your client’s personal goals and the more technical aspects of giving will help to ensure your client can have the biggest impact moving forward.

For more information on how NPT UK can support your clients’ philanthropic journey, please contact us.

About the Author

John Canady, CEO of National Philanthropic Trust UK, has 25 years of experience working across the business, nonprofit and government sectors. He specializes in creating and managing philanthropic funds for donors and family offices around the world who wish to base their philanthropy from the UK.