It will be of no surprise to some of our readers that we encourage charitable planning ahead of Q4 of the calendar year. November/December is a terrible time for donors and funders to start deciding where their philanthropic capital should go! 

For 2027 let’s start the year by thinking about what your donation calendar looks like throughout the year. Giving isn’t limited to December. In fact, planning long before year-end lets you tap into a few things that you may not have considered in the rush to get donations done by December 31st. 

Funders who begin 2027 with a sense of curiosity are the ones who gain true clarity on the efficacy of their annual giving. Here’s how…

Philanthropy Is More Than Setting Granting Targets

Every funder has basic goals: give away a certain dollar amount, support favorite causes, attend annual galas, or fulfill tax-mandated distribution minimums. The harder question is whether those goals add up to a cohesive philanthropic strategy.

A strong funding strategy requires donors to decide what matters most, what brings you joy, what initiatives can wait and which organizations need a quick shot in the arm now, ultimately a strong funding strategy allows you to ask, “What needs to change in our funding approach this year?” It means taking an honest look at where your philanthropic portfolio stands today before deciding what impact you want to drive tomorrow.

That can be uncomfortable. It may mean acknowledging that:

  • Project specific funding isn’t working for all your grantees.
  • A longtime recipient has outgrown its original mission or capacity. Or even its connection to you and your family.
  • Your family foundation board or advisory team needs fresh perspective or expertise.
  • Your funding scale has not kept pace with the growing severity of the issues you care about.
  • Your capital is spread too thin across too many competing priorities.
  • You have a different asset mix to consider – have you retired and you have more time? Have you sold your company and you have a few extra dollars to invest in the community? Do you have a new job and as a result a broader network of folks to connect your philanthropic activities to?

Those are precisely the conversations worth having at the start of the calendar year.

Start With the Destination, Not the Bank Account

Giving strategies often begin reactively—responding to funding proposals and solicitations. A truly impactful approach begins somewhere else: What does success actually look like?

If you were sitting back at the end of 2027, what would need to happen for you to consider your giving a success? This may seem like an unrealistic question, so we have broken out other ways of looking at how to measure success:

  • Impact Created: What measurable social, environmental, or community outcomes did your capital enable?
  • Partner Resilience: Which grantee organizations are stronger, more stable, and better equipped because of your partnership?
  • Strategic Networks: What relationships have you built or deepened with family members, co-funders, employees/business partners, experts, and community leaders?
  • Intentional Focus: What new opportunities did you pursue, and what types of requests did you purposefully choose not to fund?

Once your destination and vision are clear, deciding where to allocate funding becomes far more straightforward. Grantmaking without strategic clarity creates activity, but it rarely yields long-term, sustainable outcomes.

Turn Grantmaking Into a True Partnership

Philanthropic strategy shouldn’t happen in a vacuum. While you, or your foundation board, hold the responsibility for guiding your capital, your grantee partners, philanthropic advisors, and fellow funders offer crucial ground-level perspectives that are hard to see from the outside.

Proactive Grantmaking Question: Instead of waiting for non-profits to submit polished proposals, reach out early. Ask them:

“Where do you believe our funding could create the greatest leverage or systemic impact over the next three years?”

They say there is no better time to start something new than at this moment in time. So, given that we are in the final quarter of 2026, try flexing your philanthropic planning muscle now. Key questions to ask grantee partners during late-year planning conversations:

  1. What emerging challenges or systemic shifts are you observing on the front lines?
  2. Where are your biggest capacity bottlenecks that targeted funding could solve?
  3. Beyond financial support, how can our network, expertise, or advocacy help advance your mission?

When funders move beyond transactional grantmaking and step into strategic partnership, philanthropy yields its highest return on investment.

Moving Into 2027 With Purpose

The final months of the year provide a crucial window to step back from everyday funding requests and evaluate what comes next. Not because December 31st carries any magic, but because strategic clarity takes time and forethought.

December 2027 will arrive whether your philanthropic strategy is ready or not. The better question is whether you will end next year with a list of passive donations or a clear, high-impact strategy for your capital.