From Building Wealth to Creating Meaning: Charitable Giving at Life’s Milestones

Reaching a milestone birthday or entering retirement is about more than celebrating the years behind you—it’s about imagining the years ahead. For many people, this stage of life marks a natural shift: from building wealth to creating meaning. The focus turns from “How much do I have?” to “What difference can I make?”

Charitable giving can play a powerful role in answering that question. But before diving into tools and tax benefits, it’s worth pausing to clarify what meaning looks like for you.

Finding Clarity in a New Chapter

Here are a few ways to begin exploring what purpose and legacy mean to you:

• Reflect on your story. What experiences have shaped you? Which causes or communities carried you through challenges or gave you opportunities? Often the seeds of meaningful giving are found in your own history.
• Think in terms of values, not just organizations. Instead of asking, “Which charity should I support?” start with, “What do I value most—education, health, the environment, community?” Charitable tools can help you translate those values into action.
• Engage your family. Milestone birthdays and retirement are great opportunities to start conversations with children or grandchildren about generosity. You may find joy in involving them in giving decisions.
• Experiment. Meaning doesn’t have to be defined all at once. Making small, intentional gifts—whether of money, time, or expertise—can help you test what feels most aligned before committing to bigger strategies.

Tools to Put Meaning into Action

Once you’ve clarified what matters most, charitable strategies become the “how”:

• Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs): If you’re 70½ or older, you can give directly from your IRA to charity, satisfying required minimum distributions (RMDs) while avoiding taxable income.
• Donor-Advised Funds (DAFs): These act like charitable investment accounts—contribute now, receive a tax deduction, and recommend grants over time as your vision of impact evolves.
• Estate Giving: Updating your will or retirement account beneficiaries can ensure your legacy supports causes you care about while potentially reducing estate taxes.

A Note on the New OBBBA Rules

Beginning in 2026, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) changes how charitable deductions work:

• You’ll need to give at least 0.5% of AGI before deductions “count” if you itemize.
• If you take the standard deduction, you can still deduct up to $1,000 ($2,000 for couples) for charitable gifts each year.
• The tax benefit of charitable deductions is capped at 35%, even for those in higher brackets.

These changes make it more important than ever to be intentional—aligning giving with both your values and your tax picture.

Meaning as the Measure

Wealth can provide security, but meaning provides fulfillment. As you step into this new chapter of life, charitable giving offers a way to align your money with your heart—reducing taxes, supporting causes you care about, and creating a legacy that reflects what matters most.

If you’d like to explore what giving with meaning looks like for you, here’s a Charitable Giving Reflection Guide to get you started. And, we’re always here to help guide the conversation!

Disclosures:

Apella Capital, LLC (“Apella”), DBA Apella Wealth, is an investment advisory firm registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm only transacts business in states where it is properly registered or excluded or exempt from registration requirements. Registration of an investment adviser does not imply any specific level of skill or training and does not constitute an endorsement of the firm by the Commission. Apella Wealth provides this communication as a matter of general information. Any data or statistics quoted are from sources believed to be reliable but cannot be guaranteed or warranted.