• Do you want to involve family in your philanthropy? Are you interested in getting your children or grandchildren involved?

• Who would you like to name as your successor advisors and have you discussed your donor-advised fund intent with them?

• How much money would you like to give to charity every year out of your donor-advised fund?

• Would you consider investing your fund account in impact investments to align the investments with your mission and grant-making strategy?

Once clients have thought about these questions and are ready to get started with their giving, it may be prudent to add a philanthropic advisor to your team. This person can help your client create a comprehensive strategy and pursue effective giving. Such an advisor can also introduce clients to new charities, conduct due diligence, blend their philanthropy for maximum impact and help clients understand the integration of lifetime and legacy giving. Many donor-advised fund providers, like the American Endowment Foundation, Schwab Charitable, Fidelity Charitable and the National Philanthropic Trust, allow philanthropic advisor fees to be paid out of the donor-advised funds, the same way they are from private foundations.

As clients venture into giving, here are some helpful practices:

• Set an annual calendar for giving, noting how often your clients would like to designate grants throughout the year.

• If your client is including family or friends (or others) in the effort, establish a giving committee, and set an annual meeting among spouses, families and other involved parties to make sure there is dedicated time to discuss the philanthropy.

• Encourage your clients to get involved with the issues and organizations they are interested in supporting. Clients should “go beyond the check” by developing relationships and engaging in partnerships with organizations.

• Send brief “memorandums of understanding” to the charities. This establishes what they can expect from your client—and communicate how and when the client would like to be acknowledged and what kind of follow-up reporting or information clients would like to receive from the charities. These details are not included in the grant award letter that accompanies the check. The memorandum is both a more personal way to support an organization and provides an opportunity to establish certain accountability parameters, particularly if the gifts are made in more than one year.