If you are fortunate enough to be able to include a charitable giving component in your estate plan you would do well to ask yourself how these financial resources are going to be utilized.

Because of the inherent nature of charities you may think that everyone who works for one is a well-meaning and passionate volunteer. In fact, some charities devote very significant percentages of their budgets to administrative expenses. They sometimes include high salaries to executives and lavish spending on fundraising activities.

Most people would like to think that their donations are being optimally utilized with a very small percentage being absorbed by overhead.

You can get the facts by tapping into a useful online resource: CharityNavigator.org. This site contains a lot of useful information about the way that charities operate, including things like CEO salaries. You can also find out the percentages of overall budgets that are devoted to administrative costs and fundraising rather than the delivery of programs and services.

Once you know where you would like your money to go you have to arrange for it to reach its destination. This can be done in various different ways. Contributing into a donor advised fund would be an option, and you may even want to consider creating a private foundation.

There are tax advantages that can be realized in many cases through acts charitable giving, and of course the personal rewards speak for themselves. If you would like to discuss your philanthropic aims with an expert contact us at (563) 445-7400 to set up a free consultation.