Tag: Charitable Giving
Making the Most of Holiday Giving in Retirement (Ep. 81)

Making the Most of Holiday Giving in Retirement (Ep. 81)

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Giving is a joyful part of the holiday season, and retirement offers unique opportunities to make it meaningful.

How can retirees balance financial, personal, and charitable giving during the holidays? How can creative and intentional choices enhance the spirit of giving?

In this episode of Relax, It’s Retirement, Josh Leonard and Pete Belcastro discuss strategies for embracing the joy of giving in retirement, including financial tips, creative gift ideas, and charitable contributions. From smart tax planning to handmade gifts, this episode is packed with practical advice for a thoughtful and budget-friendly holiday season.

They Discuss:

  • The emotional and personal rewards of giving during retirement, including the value of sharing time and handmade gifts
  • Creative and budget-conscious gift ideas, such as shared experiences and handmade items, to add meaning without overspending
  • Charitable strategies like Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) and donor-advised funds to maximize the impact of financial giving
  • The importance of holiday traditions and how simple, shared activities can create lasting memories
  • Year-end financial planning tips, including Roth conversions and tax-efficient
  • And more!

Resources:

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5 Key Tax Opportunities to Capture Before Year-End! (Ep. 77)

5 Key Tax Opportunities to Capture Before Year-End! (Ep. 77)

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Are you making the most of your year-end tax planning? 

In this episode, Josh Leonard dives into effective year-end tax planning strategies to maximize your savings. Prepare for an insightful discussion on Roth conversions, tax loss harvesting, and charitable giving. 

Learn how to navigate potential tax pitfalls and make informed financial decisions before the calendar flips to a new year.

Josh covers:

  • Roth conversions and their tax advantages
  • Tax loss harvesting to offset gains
  • Charitable giving strategies, including QCDs and donor-advised funds
  • Maximizing deductions for medical expenses
  • Adjusting withholding for accurate tax planning
  • And more!

Resources:

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Maximizing Charitable Giving in Retirement (Ep. 73)

Maximizing Charitable Giving in Retirement (Ep. 73)

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Charitable giving can be a powerful part of your retirement, and it’s about more than just donations—it’s about making a lasting impact with your finances.

How do you ensure your giving is intentional and efficient? What strategies can help you make the most of your contributions without incurring unnecessary taxes?

Join Josh Leonard and Pete Belcastro as they dive into the fulfilling world of charitable giving and how it can play a critical role in your financial planning. 

Learn about the impact of charitable contributions, the importance of a personalized giving strategy, and efficient ways to manage generosity through Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs), donor-advised funds, and stock gifting. 

They discuss: 

  • How Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) can benefit your taxes and your favorite charities
  • How donor-advised funds offer a strategic approach to managing philanthropic efforts and tax planning
  • The benefits of gifting appreciated stock to family or charities to reduce potential capital gains tax
  • Inspiring stories about the impact of efficient giving on individual lives and overall financial health
  • And more!

Resources:

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Connecting Community and Retirement Through Art with Tami Fauver (Ep. 57)

Connecting Community and Retirement Through Art with Tami Fauver (Ep. 57)

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Art isn’t just for galleries – it’s a powerful tool for enriching your retirement experience. Have you ever thought about how art could transform your retirement? 

Today on Relax, It’s Retirement, Josh introduces Tami Fauver, the Executive Chief and Curator at Krasl Art Center. They explore the dynamic intersection of the arts and retirement and discuss how Krasl Arts Center has become a cornerstone for both aspiring artists and retirees looking to give back and stay engaged. Learn how art fairs, community engagement, and creative expressions can shape a fulfilling retirement. Tami and Josh converse about the unique opportunities for volunteering, contributing to local arts, and enriching your golden years with creativity and excitement. From volunteering opportunities to the benefits of charitable giving, this episode provides valuable insights to help you make the most of your golden years.

Josh and Tami discuss: 

  • The history and significance of the Crassel Art Fair on the Bluff
  • The role of art in fostering community connections and personal well-being
  • Unique art classes and programs available for all ages at the Krasl Art Center
  • How art can be a therapeutic and fulfilling activity for retirees
  • The welcoming and supportive environment the Krasl Art Center provides for individuals to explore their creativity
  • Opportunities for community involvement and charitable giving to support local arts
  • And more

Resources:

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Connect with Tami Fauver:

About our Guest: 

As the Executive Chief and Curator at Krasl Art Center in St. Joseph, Michigan, Tami Fauver is a museum professional committed to excellence and creativity. Tami is a collaborative trust builder, working to empower others, complete integral projects, retain organizational values, support the careers of artists, and transcend boundaries. She strongly values working with artists and creatives on special projects and new initiatives.

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Building a Legacy Through Smart Retirement and Giving Strategies with Jack Miller (Ep. 49)

Building a Legacy Through Smart Retirement and Giving Strategies with Jack Miller (Ep. 49)

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Many believe that impactful philanthropy is exclusive to the ultra-rich. However, strategic charitable giving is accessible to a wide range of donors.

In this episode, Josh Leonard is joined by philanthropy expert Jack Miller, principal of Miller Consulting, for a conversation about how strategic charitable giving can be a cornerstone of your financial planning and legacy. Jack shares his personal journey, blending faith, philanthropy, and financial strategy, to provide listeners with a roadmap to creating a legacy that resonates through generations. Discover the synergy between tax-efficient philanthropy and fulfilling retirement goals, reinforced by Jack’s rich experiences and the strategic insights from Leonard Advisory Group.

Jack discusses: 

  • The pivotal role of charitable giving in tax-efficient retirement planning
  • Harnessing the Qualified Charitable Distribution to optimize philanthropy and tax benefits
  • Creative leveraging of assets like real estate and tangible property for charitable impact
  • Personal stories of charity transforming lives and reinforcing community bonds
  • And more

Tune in to uncover how charitable giving can amplify your retirement planning and leave a lasting legacy for the causes closest to your heart.

Resources:

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Connect with Jack Miller:

About our Guest: 

Jack Miller is the principal and lead of Miller Consulting. During his 30-year career, Jack has conducted annual and capital campaigns, special events and estate planning seminars. He has helped individuals contribute millions of dollars to charity and in 2000, his consulting work led Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation to hire him as its first director of planned giving, a position he held until July 1, 2012 when he became Vice President of Development for Baptist Homes Society in Pittsburgh.

From 1993 until 2006, Jack also headed Anlin Industries’ development division before founding Miller Consulting. Since 1975, Jack served western Pennsylvania as planned giving director for United Way of Allegheny County and St. Barnabas Charitable Foundation; chief development officer for Suburban General Hospital, The Medical Center and St. Peter’s Child Development Centers; executive director of Duquense University’s Duke’s Court sports booster organization; assistant development and alumni director at LaRoche College and public relations coordinator at the School for Blind Children.

Jack graduated with distinction from Bethany College and is a past-president of the Pittsburgh Planned Giving Council. In 2000, the Association of Fundraising Professionals’ Western Pennsylvania Chapter named him its Outstanding Fund-raising Executive.

In 1992, Jack helped to organize a statewide development issues task force that was instrumental in passing the Pennsylvania Charitable Gift Annuity Exemption Act, 10 P.S. §361 et. seq., that established parameters for Pennsylvania charities to issue gift annuities. The task force also helped to pass legislation that defined purely public charities in Pennsylvania.

Some interesting gifts Jack closed include an outright gift of a personal residence with a retained life-interest; the first funeral home in Pennsylvania to fund a charitable remainder annuity trust and a $500,000 grant from a major foundation to promote planned gifts as a way of leveraging resources.

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Making an Impact with Donor-Advised Funds ft. Daffy.org CEO Adam Nash (Ep. 47)

Making an Impact with Donor-Advised Funds ft. Daffy.org CEO Adam Nash (Ep. 47)

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Are you struggling to navigate the complexities of charitable giving and tax planning for retirement?

Let us introduce you to Daffy!

Josh Leonard and his guest, Adam Nash, co-founder and CEO of Daffy.org dive into the world of donor-advised funds, money decisions, and much more on this engaging episode of Relax It’s Retirement. They address how Daffy can help simplify your giving and give you more control over your charitable donations. Take the stress and guesswork out of charitable giving, allowing you to support causes you care about with ease while maximizing your tax benefits. Find out how Daffy can revolutionize your approach to giving and tax planning.

Josh and Adam discuss: 

  • What donor-advised funds are, and how do they benefit individuals
  • How Daffy.org is reshaping charitable giving with cutting-edge technology and innovation
  • The importance of setting financial goals for charitable giving
  • The impact of automating contributions on financial planning
  • Benefits of setting giving goals and embracing a donor-advised fund for smarter tax planning and impactful philanthropy
  • And more

Resources:

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Connect with Adam Nash:

About our Guest: 

Adam Nash is co-founder and CEO of Daffy.org. Adam is a proven advocate for development of products that go beyond utility to delight customers. At Dropbox, he led the teams responsible for growth, product strategy, product management & product analytics for a platform with over 600 million registered users with responsibility for all of Dropbox self-service revenue (~90% of all company revenue in 2019).

Before Dropbox, Adam served as the President & CEO of Wealthfront, where for four years he championed the creation of a new category of automated investment services. While Adam was at Wealthfront, the company grew its client base by over 60x, and grew assets under management 45x from less than $100m to over $4 billion. During his tenure, Wealthfront delivered industry-leading innovations including Direct Indexing, the Single-Stock Diversification Service, and the first automated 529 College Savings Plan. 

Prior to joining Wealthfront, Adam was Vice President of Product Management at LinkedIn. Adam led LinkedIn’s Platform & Mobile products, including the launch of LinkedIn’s open developer platform and their highly successful native applications and mobile web experiences. Adam was the founder and architect of LinkedIn Hackdays, a seminal program for driving the innovation culture at the company. He also was responsible for leading LinkedIn’s search & cloud efforts, as well as forming and leading their user experience & design team.

Prior to joining LinkedIn, Adam held a number of leadership roles at eBay, including Director of eBay Express, an innovative new site focused on new, fixed-price products. Previously, Adam also held strategic and technical roles at Atlas Venture, Preview Systems and Apple.

Adam holds an MBA from Harvard Business School as well as BS and MS degrees in Computer Science with a focus on Human-Computer Interaction from Stanford University.

Adam was born and raised in Silicon Valley where he lives with his wife, four children, and a golden retriever.

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Secure Act 2.0: What does it mean for you? (Ep. 11)

Secure Act 2.0: What does it mean for you? (Ep. 11)

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The Secure Act 2.0 was signed into place on December 23, 2022.  This opens several new strategies you can dip into, in order to save for your retirement and/or fund important goals such as education. 

In this episode, Josh Leonard discusses the number of changes this act has brought forward to us so that we can save more money more efficiently. Whether you are in the planning stage of your retirement or are looking into the future to understand how to further your savings, this episode will help you move forward. 

Josh discusses: 

  • What this act means for people under or over the age of 72
  • Changes in required minimum distributions and how the reduction penalty has lowered 
  • The increase in catch-up contribution amount for different plans
  • The ability to roll leftover 529 funds into a Roth IRA tax and penalty-free
  • How you can more effectively donate to charities of your choice
  • And more

Resources:

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Tricks and Treats for Retirement This Halloween Season (Ep. 4)

Tricks and Treats for Retirement This Halloween Season (Ep. 4)

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As we get our front porches wrapped with spider webs and observe the leaves changing colors, it might be a good time to take one step forward in your retirement planning. 

In this episode, Josh Leonard discusses some tricks and treats for retirement along with all the planning that goes into it as we head into the final quarter of the year. Additionally, he explains some ways to develop an efficient plan to take advantage of current market conditions, prepare for recessions before they come, and make smart health and tax decisions.

Josh discusses: 

  • How you can use tax loss harvesting to benefit your portfolio
  • The benefits of a donor-advised fund
  • Ways you could earn more with your savings accounts 
  • How to take advantage of the current market conditions
  • And more

Resources:

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