A charitable gift can be cash, real estate, stock and income from trust funds, or personal belongings, such as artwork, jewelry, or a used car. You can deduct up to 50% of your annual adjusted gross income for gifts of cash to an established charity or foundation. Some giving strategies depend on an organization’s policies for accepting non-cash gifts, such as real estate and appreciated securities. For instance, the United Negro College Fund has a system in place to accept the donation of stock. It also has an electronic transfer program that allows you to automatically make monthly donations to the fund.

Other giving strategies include making a bequest, that is, leaving a stated amount of assets to a charity in your will; making an organization the beneficiary of a life insurance policy; and/setting up a charitable trust.

It’s important that you work with financial, tax, and legal advisers to help you make informed decisions about what strategy is best for you. It will help you to incorporate your values and motivations for giving and also to understand any relevant investment, tax, and estate planning consequences.

Time

Consider becoming a mentor to a young person through programs such as Big Brothers Big Sisters of America or The Boys & Girls Club of America. You can also participate in after-school programs designed to help students in need.

Talent

Share your corporate and business experience when you become a board member of a community organization or nonprofit group. Being invited to join a corporate board is often a matter of who you know. But nonprofit board membership can get you noticed for a seat at the corporate table.

To get a board seat, first analyze what expertise you have to offer. Then work on becoming visible in your industry, through public speaking, for instance. Know any executive recruiters? A number of new board appointments come through headhunters. One resource is The Executive Leadership Council, www.elcinfo.com; another is Boardroom Bound, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that promotes boardroom diversity, www.boardroombound.biz