In part two of our charitable strategies series, we examined two giving scenarios to evaluate the best time to donate. In this segment, we’ll help you find and focus on your charitable passions so that you can create a plan to achieve your giving goals.

Most of us want to give back, but we may be unsure where to start. How can we do the most good? How should we allocate our time and our funds? To what causes should we direct our resources? Everyone’s path to meaningful giving is different. It’s important to find and follow yours. 

Some donors give in response to real-time donation requests, while others strategize gifts in advance, leveraging funds with intentional planning. Planning out your giving in advance can achieve impressive results, even with modest means. Establishing a donor-advised fund (DAF) allows you to do both in a way that lets you best serve your philanthropic goals with numerous benefits built-in. 

Think of a DAF as a charitable giving account, from which you can grant out to charities in response to real-time need, as well as meeting long-term giving goals. They are tax effective, allowing you to contribute appreciated securities, illiquid assets and possibly lessen capital gains and estate taxes on contributed assets. DAFs are flexible; you can choose to focus on grant recommendations, growing your account, or both. At Vanguard Charitable, we pride ourselves on offering a selection of investment options that span the risk spectrum at a low cost and without sacrificing quality. DAFs are also convenient; they consolidate your giving and are supported by a team of experts who handle the due diligence and administrative details of issuing grants.

A path to charitable passion

Using the prompts below, determine which need areas you want to center your resources. Once you have your charitable passions identified, you can develop a plan to achieve your goals.

	What is important to me? What do I value?   What are the core values that influence how you act in the world? What values do you want to carry forward in your charitable actions?
	What has shaped my interest in this cause? Do I have a personal connection to it?   Perhaps you had early exposure to an issue, which shaped a drive to address it. Maybe you read an article about an ongoing problem in your community or read about an organization working on a solution that you think has a real promise of creating meaningful change.
	Where should I target my giving within my broader interests?   Where is the greatest need? Is there an overlooked problem area? A geographic region in most need?
	What motivates me to support this cause?   Is it a long-term vision, urgency, results, honoring someone?
	What charity or group of charities should I give my resources to?   A Vanguard Charitable account gives you access to the Candid National Nonprofit Directory, a comprehensive and easy-to-use giving research tool. The directory enables you to filter organizations to identify those that meet your needs and interest areas and evaluate their overall impact.
	What does the charity need?   Do they need resources, infrastructure, or a new strategy? Understanding the underlying issues in the communities distinguishes situations in which organizational development is needed versus straight financial resources.