Any reduction to AGI from establishing/contributing to a private foundation?

This is more seeking confirmation than anything else, but I have a client who for some reason seems to think the creation of a private foundation will help lower his AGI. From my understanding there's no way that will have any impact on AGI since any contributions would be below the line deductions; and using a PF purely as a tax avoidance strategy is a terrible idea anyway, for a variety of reasons. I'm not missing anything here, am I?

P.S. Sorry if the flair is incorrect