There are lots of ways to make a charitable donation

Giving back to charitable organizations is a standard part of most household budgets.

Although the point is to give back to a cause you and your family are passionate about, there are ways to make donations and still get significant financial benefits.

Whether your charitable giving plan is fairly simple or more complex, there are a number of choices available regarding the type of gift and when it is to be made.

An outright gift of cash is the easiest; however, other creative options exist:

Appreciated stock or other property — offers a favorable tax deduction and avoids capital gains tax.

Tangible personal property — This is an excellent avenue to pursue, but tread lightly.

It must be long-term capital gain property, useable and used by the organization in a way that is related to its purpose.

Otherwise the gift is deductible only for the lower of its fair market value or cost basis (i.e. artwork to an art museum OK, artwork to a homeless shelter, lower tax deduction).

Retirement assets — The IRS has extended - through 2009 - the ability of qualifying taxpayers (over age 70½) to make tax-free contributions from their IRA plans (up to $100,000) to qualified charitable organizations.

Donor Advised Funds — This vehicle provides for an immediate tax deduction, but the charitable recipient can be chosen at a later date.

This is an excellent choice when a liquidation event (i.e. sale of a business or property) happens near the end of the year, but the charitable recipient(s) has not been chosen yet.

Donor Advised Funds are very economical and efficient. They are also a great way to involve other family members over the course of time to decide which charitable organizations are best served through giving.

Life insurance policies with cash surrender value — if your death benefits are no longer needed, this kind of transaction voids the need for any subsequent premium payments and removes death benefits from your estate. Or,

Name a charitable organization as beneficiary - there is no immediate tax deduction, but the gift can still serve a useful purpose.

Death benefits for a charitable organization reduce a taxable estate and pass contractually outside of probate.

No administrative expense or settlement costs. You as owner retain the power to change the beneficiary.

If the charitable organization is made the policy owner, annual unrestricted cash gifts to cover premium costs are tax deductible.

Charitable lead trusts — This is an excellent vehicle for near-term support of an organization, such as a capital campaign. For a term of years after funding the split-interest trust, payment of the income interest is distributed to one or more designated charitable organizations. At termination of the trust the remainder passes to named individual beneficiaries at a reduced taxable value.

Charitable remainder trusts — Charitable remainder trusts have both charitable and non-charitable beneficiaries.

When the trust is created, the charity's interest in the trust assets is a "remainder" interest, which means it is second in line to someone else's interest.

First, you designate a qualified charity and then designate a non-charitable beneficiary. During the time the trust is in place, the non-charitable beneficiary receives a stream of income. At the end of the stated period, all the remaining assets pass to charity.

While these options may seem daunting to set up, a financial adviser can assist you with your needs and help you and the charity you are serving to reap the future benefits.