Special Guest Carissa Keen on How The Keen Wealth Foundation Is Making an Impact and Sharing Guidelines to Help You Evaluate Your Own Charitable Giving Strategy
Charitable giving is a cornerstone of many comprehensive retirement plans.
It's also a cornerstone of our mission at Keen Wealth Advisors.
Our whole team takes great pride in serving as active members of our community, whether we're making monetary grants or lending a hand to projects around the greater Kansas City area. And through the efforts of the Keen Wealth Foundation, we're able to identify causes where we can have a high impact and share what we've learned about effective giving with friends and clients of the firm.
On today's show, I'm honored to welcome the director of the Keen Wealth Foundation, my wife Carissa Keen, to discuss our philanthropic mission. Carissa also shares some best practices and a checklist that can help you feel more confident as you evaluate and consider which charitable causes and organizations you may want to support.
1. Find Your Why.
Giving and volunteering were a big part of Carissa's life growing up. "My parents had me do a lot of volunteering when I was a kid," she says. "By the time I graduated high school, I had hundreds of hours of volunteer work under my belt. I spent my summers working at North Kansas City Hospital as a candy striper. I volunteered at an early childhood development center. And I spent a lot of time in nursing homes. I would go in and talk to the residents and they would tell me their life stories. I always appreciate taking the time to listen to someone share their wisdom."
These experiences shaped a personal connection to giving that still informs Carissa's approach to philanthropy.
"I think it's important to think about your own values and what's important to you," Carissa says. "I was a single mom for a lot of years. An example of an organization that's important to me now is Happy Bottoms. They provide free diapers for families in need, and that's something that I could have used when I was a young mom. So I feel very passionate about that organization."
We formed our Keen Wealth Community Impact Community so that our team members could feel that same strong connection to the charitable work our firm is doing. Each year, Keen Wealth team members nominate 10 local charities to be our Keen Community Impact Partner for the year. Our committee then vets each of these organizations and presents their thoughts and findings to the entire firm for a vote. This year, we're proud to be supporting The Farmer's House, an organization that helps individuals with developmental disabilities.
Much like we encourage seniors to think about what they're retiring to, your charitable giving goals should speak to your sense of purpose. It might be helpful to talk to your spouse or other family members about the causes or organizations that are most important to you and how you can use your comprehensive financial plan to make a difference.
2. Identify the Best Way to Give
Some folks get uncomfortable talking about the financial side of a giving plan. We want to give to help others, not to check a box on next year's tax return.
But it's also important to be a good steward of your resources. And since recent changes to tax law have made itemized deductions less beneficial than the standard deduction for most folks, you should be aware of some alternative strategies that could supercharge your giving, such as:
Donor-Advised Funds: Contribute cash and securities you've held for at least a year and one day. You won't pay capital gains on any donated securities that have appreciated. If you do itemize, you'll receive a tax deduction for your contributions. And your funds will grow tax-free until you're ready to make a donation to a qualified charity.
Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs): At age 70 1/2, the IRS allows you to make a withdrawal from your IRA to donate to a qualified charity (up to $108,000 in 2025) that also counts against your required minimum distribution for the year. A QCD does not count as taxable income, so it can help you give, meet your RMD, and lower your tax liability all at once.
However, money isn't the only way that you can approach sustained giving.
" Typically, at Keen Wealth, we're working with organizations locally," Carissa says. "And that is specifically because we want to put boots on the ground. We want to be able to take all of our team members and spend the day painting a building at the Veterans Community Project or packing lunches and snack bags for kids at Harvesters Community Food Network. That's a big part of our culture."
Carissa has also "donated" her expertise to help organizations optimize their fundraising capabilities. Your own time and professional skills could be just as valuable to a charitable organization. And if you're retired, taking a more hands-on approach to philanthropy can also be a very rewarding way to add some structure and purpose to your days.
3. Do Your Research
"When you're thinking about making a donation to an organization or getting involved in any way, you want to properly vet the organization," advises Carissa. Many nonprofits are required by law to publish annual reports, including financial statements, that you can find on their websites. Carissa also recommends using sites like Charity Navigator or GuideStar to get a clearer picture of an organization's financial health and how they're using the funds they raise.
The Keen Wealth Foundation's Nonprofit Evaluation Checklist is also a useful tool for answering some important questions about a charity or nonprofit, including:
What is their mission and how are they measuring their impact?
What is the leadership and governance structure?
Are audited financials available and are they allocating resources responsibly?
Do More with Your Most Valuable Resources
“I think it used to be the norm that people waited until the end of their life to do their giving,” Carissa says. “And now the trend that we're seeing is that it's more meaningful for people to do their giving shortly after they retire. It's their time to get involved in the community, and they want to watch their money be put to work. Again, it's not only your financial resources. Think about how you personally could get involved. What are your personal interests and talents and how can you go share that with other organizations to make a sustainable and lasting impact?”
Carissa and the Keen Wealth Foundation are inspiring our team to keep asking ourselves those questions and finding new ways to improve our community.
If you’re looking to incorporate sustainable giving goals into your comprehensive financial plan, come visit Keen Wealth and let’s start talking about the causes closest to your heart.
About Bill
Bill Keen is a financial advisor with over 30 years of industry experience. As the founder and CEO of Keen Wealth Advisors, a registered investment advisory firm, he focuses on providing personalized retirement planning designed to help people thrive before and during their retirement years. With a passion for educating others, Bill regularly blogs about retirement planning, hosts the podcast Keen on Retirement, and has contributed to Forbes, U.S. News and World Report, Reuters, Wall Street Journal’s Market Watch, Yahoo Finance, and other publications. Based in Overland Park, Kansas, Bill and his team work with clients throughout the greater Kansas City area and across the nation. To learn more, connect with him on LinkedIn or visit www.keenwealthadvisors.com.
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