Year-end giving requests: handling charitable transfers from client accounts
A small RIA can handle year-end giving by telling clients early what the custodian's December cut-off dates are, collecting each request with the charity's receiving details, verifying the request through contact details already on file, submitting it through the custodian's process, and recording what was sent, to whom, and when, with confirmation. Whether a gift suits the client's tax situation is a question for their tax professional.
On 22 December a client emails: please send 200 shares to their church before year end. The custodian's cut-off for gifts of securities was the 15th. The church's receiving details aren't in the email. The advisor spends two days chasing, and the gift lands in January. Every part of that was avoidable with a note in October.
Before the rush
- Check your custodian's year-end cut-off dates for cash transfers, gifts of securities and retirement account distributions.
- Send clients one short note with those dates, and ask anyone planning to give to tell you early.
- Agree internally who handles giving requests and where they're logged.
For each request
| Item | Example |
|---|---|
| Charity and receiving details | Name, account details from the charity itself |
| What is going | $5,000 cash, or 200 shares of a named holding |
| From which account | Taxable brokerage, or IRA |
| Verification | Confirmed by phone on the number on file, with the date |
| Submitted and confirmed | Dates, and the custodian's confirmation |
A worked example
Take a hypothetical two-person RIA that sends its giving note on 1 November with the custodian's dates. Nine clients reply by mid-November. Each request is verified by phone, logged on the client's record, and submitted by the end of November. Two late requests arrive in December; one makes the cash cut-off, and the other client is told early enough to give by card directly instead. Every gift, its date and its confirmation sit on the client's record for tax season.
What are the common gaps?
- No early note, so requests arrive after the cut-offs.
- Charity details taken from a forwarded email without checking.
- Requests acted on without a callback.
- No record of what was given, which the client's tax preparer will ask for.
When is this overkill?
If none of your clients give from their accounts, skip it. If even two or three do, the October note is worth sending.
How Advorra fits
Advorra keeps communications on each client's record with their household and accounts, so a giving request, the callback and the confirmation sit together where you'll find them in tax season. See the product page, or read about verifying client money instructions and tax season requests.
One thing to do this week: look up your custodian's year-end cut-off dates and put them in a client note.
An operations routine, not tax or legal advice. Questions about whether and how to give belong with the client's tax professional.
Questions advisors ask
When should we remind clients?
In October or early November, before the custodian's year-end cut-offs, which are often well before 31 December.
What details do we need from the client?
The charity's name and receiving account details, the amount or securities, the account it comes from, and the timing.
Should we verify a giving request?
Yes, like any request to move money, through contact details already on file.
Can we advise whether to give from an IRA?
That's a tax question for the client's tax professional. Operations can explain the process and dates.
Is this tax advice?
No. It is an operations routine.
See it on a demo firm
Advorra is practice software for independent RIAs: clients, models, IPS, billing and compliance records in one place, on top of the custodian you already use. Built by The CollabHub.
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