1. Congress has granted favorable tax treatment to individuals who choose to make charitable contributions to the charities of their choice-whether through current outright gifts, deferred gifts or bequests.   
2. "Giving while you're living"  Charitable gifts made during your lifetime provide an income tax deduction not available through a bequest gift.  
3. Giving assets is better than giving cash, especially long-term, highly appreciated assets.  
4. Planned giving provides powerful benefits. They provide significant income tax and estate tax benefits.  They also can provide a lifetime income stream as well as a significant remainder gift to charity.  
5. Assets such as pension plans generally provide better tax benefits in a testamentary gift.  If you are going to make a charitable bequest, it is usually better to transfer assets subject to income tax to charity and transfer non-taxable assets to heirs.

Prospective donors are advised to seek the advice of a tax professional before entering into any charitable planned gift.