(MONEY Magazine) – Each year Darren Ewaska would write some 60 two- or three-figure checks to charities--to everything from the Ronald McDonald House to historic-preservation causes. But the experience left him dissatisfied. "I felt like I was starting over every time," says the 38-year-old financial adviser in Chardon, Ohio. Then Ewaska learned about donor-advised funds--a form of giving that lets you, in effect, create your own charitable foundation. By contributing to the fund, you receive a tax deduction that year; you then direct the fund to donate a portion of that money to the charities of your choice, while leaving the balance to appreciate. Often, people using the funds wind up making fewer but larger charitable gifts. Says Ewaska: "It's a great way to achieve more impact and control over your giving."

Ewaska chose to open his donor-advised fund three years ago with the Cleveland Foundation, a community organization that provides donors with advice about estate planning and tax benefits as well as general information about giving and expertise on local charities. Now, after stashing away a few thousand dollars whenever he could, Ewaska has built his fund to $9,000. He figures the balance will reach $10,000 by June, when he and his wife Lisa will be able to sponsor an initial $500 college scholarship at their former high school. Over many years they hope to build up the fund so that one day the scholarship will pay for a full ride to a public college.

Charitable giving is something of an Ewaska family tradition. His father, a blue-collar worker, frequently wrote checks to worthy causes. And Darren Ewaska intends to involve his own two children--Zachary, 7, and Mitchell, 2--in charitable giving when they become older. "The fund will be a way to teach my children the importance of giving back," he says. "The fund is a way to create a legacy that can be passed on to future generations." --P.W.