[cdcarter]

I do a similar thing, but I have a fairly aggressive portfolio on Betterment that I store my eventual philanthropy in. I fund it out of my credit card's cash back, and unexpected extra income. It's very frustrating to not be able to take advantage of tax deductible gifts seemingly just because I don't own a home!

[xur17]

If you donate the investment directly to a non-profit, you will be able to deduct the full value of the investment, and won't have to pay capital gains on it.

Keeping the money in an investment account is a fairly good idea - I should have enough by the end of the year to make this worthwhile.