Effective charitable planning requires context. That’s why our staff is committed to keeping you up to date on research and trends that affect philanthropy and related strategies at a macro level. In that spirit, we’re sharing three important trends and updates:
Philanthropy supports a larger and more complex nonprofit sector than ever before.
Charitable giving is going strong! In 2025, Americans contributed an estimated $617 billion to support causes ranging from local nonprofits and places of worship to educational institutions and animal welfare organizations. This fell just short of the record set during a pandemic-related surge in philanthropy, but nevertheless, 2025 represents one of the highest levels of charitable giving ever recorded.
Consistent with that trend, in its recent report, The U.S. Tax-Exempt Sector Explained: The Growing Role of Nonprofits in America, the Bipartisan Policy Center highlights the significant growth of the nonprofit sector over the past several decades. Nonprofits today provide essential services, strengthen communities, advance education and healthcare, and address needs that government and the private sector often cannot meet on their own. This signals an important reminder to advisors that charitable planning is not simply a tax exercise. Helping your clients support charitable organizations can have meaningful implications for communities and local economies well beyond the specific charitable organizations themselves.
Charitable planning tools continue to evolve.
PG Calc’s recent article, The State of Play: Navigating the Current Landscape of QCD Legislation and DAF Regulations, provides a helpful review of ongoing discussions in Washington surrounding Qualified Charitable Distributions and donor-advised funds. These tools continue to offer valuable planning opportunities for many clients. Advisors who stay informed about potential changes are often better positioned to help clients adapt as the charitable planning landscape evolves.
Clients increasingly expect charitable planning to be integrated into broader financial and estate planning conversations.
Philanthropy is becoming more sophisticated, more visible, and more interconnected with wealth transfer, retirement planning, tax planning, and legacy goals. A recent article in Financial Advisor Magazine highlighted once again the importance of philanthropy to high net worth families, which in turn means that advisors who work with these clients must be familiar with donor-advised funds and other charitable planning tools. Clients often look to their trusted advisors not only for technical expertise, but also for perspective on how charitable giving fits into their overall financial picture.
The bottom line is that context matters! By working with the Winona Community Foundation to stay informed about charitable trends, you can better serve your clients and help them achieve their financial planning goals and their goals for community impact.
The Winona Community Foundation offers a range of charitable options and funds for individuals, families, businesses, and nonprofits to accomplish their philanthropic goals. As your trusted partner, resource, and steward for community philanthropy, the Winona Community Foundation is committed to helping every individual give back in a way that is both meaningful to them and the causes they care about. Contact us to learn more.
