Donor Stories

Jerry is a retired fireman who at 72 volunteers for a number of charities in his community. Recently, one of them shared an opportunity to join in a new program with a positive impact. Jerry was excited to help, but a lead gift of $10,000 was needed to start the program. Recognizing that he will not use all of his IRA during life, Jerry decided to make a $10,000 charitable IRA rollover gift to the organization in 2006.

Jerry: I want to increase my gifts to charity. I don't have a lot of other assets to give away with the exception of my IRA.

Jerry has already made cash charitable gifts up to the Federal limit (50% of Jerry's adjusted gross income). He wanted to make an additional gift to charity without increasing his taxes.

The gift planner at the charity told Jerry that he could make a tax-free rollover gift from his IRA of any amount up to $100,000 without increasing his income or paying additional tax. This IRA charitable gift could be made "over and above" his other charitable gifts.

Jerry: I don't need the income from my IRA. I have enough income from sales of my investments and part-time work to cover my living expenses. The IRA gift plan seems like a good idea to me.

Jerry decided to make a gift of $10,000 from his IRA to the charity. He is able to continue to make his normal charitable contributions in addition to the IRA gift without exceeding Federal limits.

Jerry: I am happy that this year I am able to give more and that the gift qualifies for my required distribution. The satisfaction I gain from helping the charity is significant.

Please note: The name and image above is representative of a typical donor and is not an actual donor to our organization. Since your IRA gift benefits under federal rules may be different from this person, you may want to contact us to discuss an IRA gift.

The 2010 IRA charitable rollover passed the House and awaits Senate approval. It is not currently available. Because it is very likely to pass this year, we ask you to continue to plan for a potential IRA charitable rollover in the fall of 2010. To learn more click here.

For more information please select one of the following options:

1. If you would like to receive more information on the benefits of an IRA gift click here.

2. To learn more about making an IRA gift, you may print a brochure. Click Here.