Pledge agreements form a fundamental building block for charitable institutions, regardless of whether you're in capital campaigns or just carrying on good fundraising work. Usually, they are used to provide gift agreements for structured outright gifts, but with a little imagination the same purpose can be achieved using short‐term deferred gifts. The secret ingredient is clarity. Think through whether you want to make a pledge irrevocable or revocable, and, once that is decided, word your agreements carefully so that no one is surprised by the implementation. This article reflects on how good work on the front end will give the donor and the institution years of satisfaction.

Designating a donor advised fund as the remainderman of a CRT maximizes flexibility.

This article provides an overview of asset protection planning and its role in estate and charitable gift planning from both the donor's and the charity's perspective. Topics covered include erosion of the traditional protection of charities from creditors' claims; insuring against a charity's liabilities; the use of supporting organizations to protect a charity's assets; potential conversion of a nonprofit corporation to a protected charitable trust; the new "L3C" entity and its probable role.

A CRT can defer taxes on the sale of farm land, while providing a charitable income tax deduction and, most importantly, a gift to charity.